SPOKANE, Wash. - A pair of late goals from Karl Muelheims broke a tie and secured a come-from-behind victory for No. 9 Whitworth over visiting Linfield on Saturday at the Whitworth Soccer Field.

Whitworth (14-1-1, 10-1-1 Northwest Conference) remained atop the NWC standings with the key win over Linfield (8-10-0, 4-8-0 ). With 31 points, the Pirates sit one point ahead of second-place Pacific Lutheran with two matches remaining on the schedule. The Lutes also scored late for a win on Saturday with a 90th-minute goal to top Pacific (Ore.).  

The Wildcats grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute with a goal from Michael Kleeman. Austin Bebee gained control of a loose ball at the top of the 18-yard box and found Kleeman with space inside the left side of the box for a finish from roughly seven yards away.

The Pirates responded quickly with a goal from Tyler Cardinale in the 18th minute. A shot fired by Samual Jarrett was blocked and bounced over to Cardinale, positioned just inside the 18-yard box on the right side of the field. He struck the ball with one touch, finishing to the upper-left corner of the net for his first career goal.

The Pirates held possession for much of the contest and produced numerous shot opportunities. Whitworth nearly scored in the opening minutes, with a shot off the crossbar in the third minute and another off the post in the seventh minute. The Pirates fired 37 shots in the contest but did not find the back of the net after Cardinale's goal until the final minutes.

Muelheims scored twice with goals less than a minute apart in the 87th and 88th minutes. Whitworth gained the lead after Sam Engle sent a through-ball pass to Muelheims in the left side of the 18-yard box. Muelheims had his initial shot saved but not controlled by the Linfield goalkeeper and followed up his shot to score from close range in the 87th minute.

In the 88th minute, Jonah Snyder found Muelheims with space on the left side of the field in the 18-yard box. He scored to the near post past a diving goalkeeper to add the insurance goal. It was his NWC-leading 17th goal of the season.

The Pirates placed 12 shots on goal and held the Wildcats to three shots in the contest.

Timmy Costa faced just one shot on goal while Linfield netminder Jorge Rodriguez made nine saves.

The Pirates host Willamette on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. for Senior Day. Whitworth will honor its eight seniors prior to the start of the contest.