SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth fell 3-0 to visiting Willamette University in a Northwest Conference men's soccer match on Sunday at Whitworth Soccer field.
Following a last-minute one-goal loss to first place Whitman on Saturday, the Bearcats (2-4-2 overall, 2-3-2 NWC) came in motived and put the game away in the second half. The Pirates fell to 2-6-2 and 0-4-2 in conference play.
The first half was defined by end-to-end play as both teams attempted to make deep runs on long crosses, resulting in eight combined offside calls. Willamette broke through in the 34th minute as Daniel Hairi scored a header on a cross from Carter Heikkila.
The Bucs started the second half strong and didn't allow a Willamette shot until the 61st minute. Shortly after, Dillon Smith fed Heikkila on a long through ball that Heikkila converted to double the lead. Three minutes later, a hard cross found Heikkila in front, who put the game out of reach with his second goal of the game and third on the season.
Whitworth had a free kick at the top of the box late in the match but were unable to convert.
Shots finished 12-8 in favor of the Bearcats. Willamette had seven shots on target to Whitworth's three.
Lucas Waarvick led the Bucs with two shots. Joehnk and Connor Bly joined Waarvick with a shot on goal. Oliver Hart made three saves in the full 90 minutes at goalkeeper.
Heikkila led Willamette with three shots. Mikkel Jensen made three saves in the shutout.
The Pirates will head west next weekend to battle Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran.
