SPOKANE, Wash. – Caden Martin scored his first two goals as a Pirate, Eric Shaporda racked up two assists and a goal in his second-to-last home game at Whitworth, and Beckett Arthur tallied one of each as Whitworth routed Linfield 4-1 on Saturday.
Prior to the match Whitworth honored its 2024 graduating seniors; Eric Shaporda, Andyn Maldonado, Andrew Wolotira, Jett Manglona, Chris Barry, and Christian Pumpelly.
The Pirates (9-4-3 overall, 7-2-3 NWC) scored three times in the first 27 minutes despite their unusual starting lineup.
Martin was hot early, scoring on a perfect set up from Arthur in the 12th minute before cashing in a corner kick by Shaporda with a header into the top left corner for a 15th minute goal. The barrage continued as Shaporda found Arthur who drilled a shot into the lower left corner to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.
Linfield (4-10-3 overall, 3-7-2) gained traction for a moment as Ross Vargo scored his first goal of the year. Vargo found the bottom right corner of the net in the 38th after the Pirates failed to clear a deflected corner kick.
The Pirates outshot Linfield 6-2 in shots on goal in the first half and controlled an astounding 71% of the possession through the first half. Linfield turned the tide slightly, outshooting the Pirates 9-7 in shots during the second half.
Both teams missed several scoring chances in the second half. Angel Hernandez and Reese Gaines both had point blank opportunities to cut the deficit in the 67th minute, but Aiden Chase took care of both. Cameron Johnson and Arthur each missed a point-blank chances as well.
But in the 85th minute, it was a senior-to-senior connection as Barry found Shaporda who evaded a defender and buried his ninth goal of the year for the dagger to put the Pirates up 4-1.
Whitworth will finish off their home weekend against Willamette on Sunday, Linfield will hit the road to play Whitman.
