SPOKANE, Wash. – Cole Friesen scored one goal and assisted another and Aiden Chase had a rare goalkeeper's assist to lead Whitworth to a 4-1 win over visiting Willamette in a Northwest Conference men's soccer match on Sunday afternoon.
The Pirates improved to 6-3-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the NWC with their third straight win, while the Bearcats dropped to 1-6-3, 1-3-2.
Willamette scored first when Krisna LaFrance split a pair of Whitworth defenders will driving into the penalty area. His hard shot to the lower right corner got past Pirate keeper Aiden Chase in the seventh minute.
Ryan Doyle kept the Bearcats in the lead with a diving save on a shot by Clayton Crockett five minutes later. But Whitworth got on the board in the 21st minute when Keegan Davis fired a long shot into the upper corner after getting a pass from Cameron Gardner.
The Pirates took the lead in the 27th minute when Friesen finished after Beckett Arthur dispossessed a Willamette defender and sent the ball forward.
After getting denied earlier in the match, Crockett got his goal when he outmaneuvered three Willamette defenders under a high pass forward and got one-on-one against Doyle just three minutes before halftime.
Whitworth put the match away with the fourth goal in the 47th minute. After a Bearcat corner kick, Chase fired a long punt forward and Friesen was able to possess the ball and sent it forward to a streaking Dominic Gusman for a breakaway score.
Chase had his own diving save midway through the second half off a header by LaFrance.
The Pirates finished with a 12-10 advantage in shots, including a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. Chase made three saves for Whitworth while Doyle had three stops for Willamette.
The Pirates will head to Tacoma for matches at Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran next weekend.
