SPOKANE, Wash.— Whitworth held off visiting Willamette 2-1 to claim the Northwest Conference men's soccer opener between the teams on a wet, rainy Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Soccer Field.

The Pirates (2-2-1, 1-0) opened the second half with two goals only two minutes apart. Beckett Arthur scored his fourth goal of the season in the 47^th minute off an assist by Jonathan Guglielmetti.

Dominic Gusman got in on the action with his second goal of the season in the 49^th minute. Victor Loyola was credited with the assist.

The Bearcats (2-2, 0-1) chipped away at the Whitworth lead with a 54^th minute goal by Ardem Baronian. This was his second goal of the season, assisted by Sean Kim.

Both teams tied with six shots in the first half, although the Willamette goalkeeper tallied three saves to the Pirates' two.

The Bearcats outshot the Pirates in the second half, tallying nine shots to Whitworth's six. However, Pirate goalkeeper Bo Broyles tallied six saves in the second half to Pierluca Carnovale's one.

Whitworth continues in NWC play Saturday at 2:30pm at the Whitworth Soccer Field against Linfield University.