SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth's men's soccer team traded second-half goals with Willamette in a physical 2-2 draw to open Northwest Conference play on Saturday at Whitworth Soccer Field.
The Pirates (0-1-1, 0-1 NWC) dominated the ball in the first half with a 9-1 advantage in shots, but the Bearcats (1-3-3, 1-0-2 NWC) answered both of Whitworth's go-ahead goals in the second half to even the final score.
Despite a strong first half for the Bucs that included four corner kicks and nine shots, the teams went into halftime scoreless.
The tie didn't last long as Dominic Gusman's speed put the Pirates up 1-0 in the 46th minute. Ethan Bell made a pass up the sideline to Gusman who raced by the defender for a one-on-one chance that he did not miss. In the 75th minute, Willamette drew even with a cross that Brenden Pineda fired into the lower left corner of the net.
Five minutes later, Lucas Diaz ripped a pass through the box that deflected off a Bearcat and found the foot of Ben Hippauf, who poked the go-ahead goal into an empty right side of the net.
Willamette kept the pressure on, and it paid off just two and a half minutes later. A hard shot was blocked by the Pirates at the top of the box and Dylan Rosie gathered it and fired the ball into the top left corner for the second equalizer of the game.
Whitworth finished with a 15-13 advantage in shots with each team putting six on target. The Bearcats had five corner kicks to the Pirates' four, which all came in the first half. Five yellow cards were handed out, all coming after the 60th minute.
Gusman led the Whitworth attack with five shots. Diaz had three shots and five other Pirates had one. Aiden Chase and Mikkel Jensen both made four saves in net.
The Pirates will look to earn their first win of the season tomorrow against visiting Pacific (Ore.) at 2:45.
