WALLA WALLA, Wash. – An early goal took the wind out of the sails for Whitman College who hosted Northwest Conference opponent Willamette University Saturday afternoon at the Whitman College Athletic Fields. The Bearcats scored in the third minute and again in the 69th to down the Missionaries 2-0. In a game that saw just 18 combine shots and only seven on goal, offense was hard to come by for both teams.
 
Whitman (5-10-2, 4-7-1 NWC) goalkeeper Milo Cantor collected two saves and senior goalkeeper, Baker Conte collected one. Offensively, senior Park Harmon and junior Trayvon Foy were both able to get shots on goal; however Willamette (3-11-2, 2-8-2) goalkeeper, Braydon Calder collected a save on each shot.
 
The game did not start off the way the Missionaries had hoped, as Willamette's Diego Ochoa scored the game's first goal just three minutes into the contest. Whitman had an opportunity just seven minutes later, but was unable to convert a corner kick into a score. Harmon's equalizer in the 32nd was saved by Calder, but the Missionaries continued to put pressure on the Bearcats; Whitman fired a corner in the final seconds of the half, but Gabe Jacobson's shot was cleared by a Linfield defender.
 
The second half started much tighter defensively, the first shot of the half came in the 69th minute, a goal by Willamette's Alan Hernandez. Although facing a 2-0 deficit, the Missionaries seemed unfazed. Foy's shot in the 75th nearly cut the Bearcat lead to one and in the 77th and 78th Whitman took two corners, keeping the pressure on the Willamette defense.
 
The final seven minutes saw three shots from three different Missionaries. Jacobson, Noah Cavanaugh and Marcos Medina all took shots that just missed wide and the two goal deficit proved to be the difference in the match.
 
Whitman will be at home the remainder of the season with a game tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. and a week from today when they host Whitworth University.