WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Seven seniors stepped onto the pitch one final time for the Whitman College men's soccer program as the Missionaries battled Northwest Conference leader Whitworth University at the Whitman Athletic Fields in the final game of the regular season.,
The visiting Pirates secured the league championship with a 3-0 victory over Whitman despite six saves from goalkeeper Niko Contos.

The defeat leaves Whitman's season records at 10-10 overall and 6-8 within the conference. Whitworth climbs to 15-1-3 and 10-1-3, respectively.

Whitworth came out on the attack from the opening whistle but the Missionaries' defense held firm, preventing the Pirates from registering a shot until late in the fourth minute. And Whitman's transition game looked solid in the early going as it produced a corner kick opportunity two minutes later.

The pressure mounted in Whitman's defensive end, however, until a shot by Whitworth's Samual Jarrett was blocked by Contos only to have the rebound bounce out to Eric Espinoza, who quickly slotted a shot into the right side for the game's opening goal and a Whitworth lead at 23:56 in the first half. Contos had kept the Pirates off the board until that time with a pair of saves.

Riley Paul tried to put home the equalizer for Whitman early in the 26th but Whitworth's Tony Watters grabbed his first save of the afternoon, erasing the threat.

The back-breaking goal came in the 32nd when the Pirates' Micheal Ramos drove to the touch line to the left of the goal then sent a cross toward the back post where Tyler Clarke was able to volley a shot behind Contos to add a cushion to the Whitworth advantage.

Contos was right back in the fray as the second half started, coming up with a save on a Ramos shot 90 seconds after the break, but Whitman was able to turn the momentum, generating back-to-back shots soon after to give hope for the Missionaries' upset bid.

Not until the 68:53 mark did those hopes falter. Kash Choudhary took a feed from Spencer Wolfe and scored a goal to stretch the lead to its final three-goal Whitworth advantage.

Paul, then Marcos Medina got off shots for Whitman soon after Choudhary's goal but both were blocked by Pirates defenders in the box. Stuart Ellsworth took the final shot of the season for Whitman in the 88th, but Watters came up with his third save of the afternoon to finish off the shutout.

Contos, Ellsworth, Paul, Alex Baker, Jose Beleche, Logan Grime and Thomas Motzer, the Missionaries' graduating Class of 2015, was honored with a brief ceremony at midfield prior to the game. The seven seniors achieved double-digits in wins for the first time in their careers with 2014's overall record, narrowly missing out on equaling the Class of 2011's 11 victories in the 2010 season.