by Andrew Goodwin, Sports Information Assistant 

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth Pirates bounced back after a tough loss on Saturday to shut out the George Fox Bruins in a 4-0 win Sunday afternoon.

After a slow start doomed Whitworth in Saturday's match against Pacific (Ore.), the Pirates started Sunday's match on the right foot, scoring four goals in the first 22 minutes to finish off the Bruins early.

"I thought we did exactly what we wanted from the start of the match," head coach Morgan Cathey said. "We found forward passes, pressed well, and played aggressively."

The scoring began in the 13th minute when Drew Williams found the end of a long pass from Austin Cassity. After receiving the pass from Cassity, Williams deposited his second goal of the season into the net. The pair also combined for Whitworth's fourth goal when Cassity sent Williams a quick pass after a cross from Eric Espinoza.

"Drew did a great job finding areas where the ball would come to him, and then he finished his chances to score," Cathey said.

The two goals from Williams were two of the four Whitworth scored in the first 22 minutes. The barrage put the match out of reach from nearly its outset with goals from Williams, Micah Weller, and Ethan Kem.

Kem's goal, which came in the 20th minute, was the first of his Whitworth career. The freshman took a pass from Williams and buried a shot from 15 yards out. It followed a goal from Weller that doubled the lead to 2-0. The goal was Weller's third of the season and first at the Whitworth Soccer Field. 

The match morphed into a back and forth affair in the second half, but neither team was able to find the back of the net. Jesus Nunez provided multiple big saves to maintain Whitworth's shutout before ceding the goal to Alex Pells for the final 27 minutes.

Whitworth finished the match with a 22-13 advantage in shots and a 9-6 lead in shots on goal. The Bruins took eight corner kicks to Whitworth's six, and both teams ended up with eight fouls. Nunez had five of the Pirates' six saves with the sixth coming from Sam McKay on a team save. 

"The shutout is huge for us," Cathey said. "Even though we were good on the attack, we wanted to be sure we didn't give away anything at the back."

Next weekend, Whitworth travels to Parkland to take on Pacific Lutheran. The match with the Lutes begins at Noon on Saturday, Sept. 23.