Box Score WALLA WALLA, Wash. – What must have seemed like non-stop pressure to visiting Whitworth University turned into a pair of goals Saturday night at the Whitman Athletic Fields as the Whitman College women's soccer team downed the Pirates, 2-1, in the Northwest Conference opener for both teams. The Missionaries out shot Whitworth by a 19-5 margin and suffered only the blemish of a set piece goal with 16 seconds remaining in the conference victory in front of more than 200 fans.
Whitman (3-2, 1-0 NWC) had its chances in the first half with
Jade Anderson hitting the crossbar in the 15th minute and
Danielle Wieck getting off a shot on a solid scoring opportunity, saved by Whitworth (1-3-1, 0-1-0) goalkeeper Andrea Stump, two minutes later. Neither team would dent the scoreboard, however, and the Northwest combatants headed into the intermission deadlocked in a scoreless tie.
The halftime discussion from head coach
Laura Williamson certainly hit the mark with Missionaries players as they came out of the break and stepped on the gas.
Elyse Laurin forced Stump to make a save not even 90 seconds into the second half and 30 seconds later
Lena de Guzman lifted a scoring opportunity just over the crossbar. Not even one minute later de Guzman had another chance, trying to one-touch a pass from the right but it too sailed a hair high.
Brianna Brown was next in line for Whitman as a shot from eight yards out in front of the goal was blocked in the 53rd minute, followed by another shot early in the 58th that Stump had to come up with.
In what seemed to be an inevitability, Whitman finally got on the board in the 59th when
Clara Merlino finished off a pass from de Guzman for the game's opening goal. de Guzman drove the ball deep toward the endline to the left of the goal and lofted a waist-high cross to Merlino who deflected the pass inside the right post beating a diving Stump who was too late to come back across her goal line.
The Missionaries continued to swarm around their attacking end and got off three more shots between the 61st and 69th minute. One was blocked and the next two were stopped by a busy Stump.
Once more in the 74th it was a deep drive and possession by Whitman which resulted in another score.
Alissa Soo possessed in the right corner and drove along the endline toward the post drawing defenders and Stump, then slotted a light pass across to the back post where Wieck easily tapped it into the left corner behind a recovering Stump to provide the home team with a 2-0 advantage.
The only blemish in the second half for Whitman came with 16 seconds remaining when a foul at the top of the box in its defensive end presented Whitworth with it's best and only scoring chance during the final 45 minutes of action. Megan McCart clipped a perfect shot up over the Whitman wall and just under the crossbar and a leaping
Haley Case to trim the lead in half, but that would be the final threat of the night by either team as the Missionaries allowed the clock to tick to zeroes for their first league win of the season.
"We had our chances in the first half but just couldn't put it away," said Williamson. "At the break we talked about getting behind their line before we crossed the ball back, and that's exactly how our first goal happened, and also how that second goal came about.,We did a much better job of winning balls higher up in the field, and that allowed us to gain those chances in the second which we finally did put away," the first-year coach added.
Whitman continues conference play with its next outings, welcoming Willamette University on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Lewis & Clark College on Sunday. Both matches are scheduled for noontime starts.
