Box Score by Brandon Loiler, Sports Information Assistant
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Pirates scored two goals in the second half to beat visiting Willamette 2-1 in a men's soccer match on Saturday.
Eight different Pirates took 17 total shots (eight on goal) to put pressure on a strong Bearcat defense. Willamette (2-2 overall, 0-1 NWC) finished with six shots and three on target.
A scoreless match was interrupted in the 41st minute when Bearcat midfielder Quinn Mello-Bastida played a through ball to Ethan Tait, leaving him one on one with Whitworth goalkeeper Timmy Costa. Tait converted to give Willamette a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
Whitworth (3-2 overall, 1-0 NWC) struggled to get into attacking position until the 74th minute, when a ball was crossed in by Kyle Morris and after finding multiple heads in the box, was controlled by Christian Haas who headed it to Moi Diaz who was able to finish. The game-deciding goal came in the 87th minute when Alfredo Ornelas rushed Bearcat goalkeeper Josh Fuentes and blocked a long kick. Ornelas beat the ball to the endline and hard-crossed it to Rylan Berriman who was recovering to the front of the goal.
Fabian Guerrero for Willamette and Kyle Morris for Whitworth were given yellow cards for hard tackles in the 43rd and 57th minute, respectively.
Costa finished with two saves for the Pirates. Fuentes had six saves.
Coming Up: Whitworth will finish the first weekend of Northwest Conference play at home against Linfield on Sunday. The game will start at 2:30 p.m. PDT.
