WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Whitman College men's soccer team collected its first home win Saturday evening against Multnomah University 2-1. The Whits came out looking sharp, hindering the Lions' offense and limiting the visitors to just seven shots.  
 
Whitman (3-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute with a goal from Eric Conte. The senior sent a header to the back of the net on a ball from David Chavarin. The Whits controlled most of the first half taking 16 combined shots, four of which were on goal. While Whitman was able to capitalize on just one of four shots it was enough to take a one goal advantage into the half.
 
The second half was relatively quiet; Multnomah (3-1) nearly scored an equalizer on two separate occasions, but Whitman goalkeeper Owen Davis-Bower and the Whit defense kept the Lions off the board. Gabe Jacobson took a shot midway through the half from the top left of the penalty box that would have put the Whits in a comfortable position, but the shot ricocheted off the left post as the score remained 1-0.
 
At the 6:25 mark, Whitman extended its lead to two with a goal by Erik Nielsen. Jimmy Jacobson popped a pass over the Lions' goalkeeper, who extended out to cut the ball off, and connected with Nielsen who finished the play.
 
Multnomah wasted no time finding its way back into the game as the Lions cut the Whit lead back to one with just over five minutes to play. The Whitman defense held on in the final minutes to collect the team's first home win of the season.
 
Whitman plays host the College of Idaho Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. The game will conclude the Whits' three-game weekend and will be the team's final game before Northwest Conference play begins.