WALLA WALLA, Wash.  A furious attack at the end of the game put the pressure on visiting Willamette University's defense, but the Bearcats repelled host Whitman College's late advances to register a 2-0 Northwest Conference women's soccer victory on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.

Whitman (0-8, 0-4 NWC) held Willamette (4-3, 1-2) to only four shots in the second half, and only one after the 66:24 mark. But that Bearcats shot in the 83rd minute proved to be a back breaker for the Whits as it found the netting behind Whitman goalkeeper Haley Case and added a cushion to what had been a tenuous 1-0 Bearcat advantage.

Following the Bearcats' second tally Whitman's attack, midfield and defenders -- and once on a corner kick opportunity, even Case -- pressed in on the Willamette goal, generating six shots in the final seven minutes.

Bearcats goalie Kristen Barclay picked up one save during the late barrage, Whitman's Lena de Guzman found the crossbar on another shot and at least one attempt was blocked from in close by a Willamette defender.

Though the ball never crossed midfield in those final minutes Whitman just wasn't able to find a way to light up the scoreboard.

Though action wasn't stagnant over the game's 90 minutes neither team would generate a great number of scoring opportunities. Case finished with four saves, while the two-headed tandem of starter Emily Sewall and in the second half Barclay came away with five saves for Willamette.

Much of Saturday's action was generated within the middle third, with the scoring chances resulting from isolated runs or, as in the case of Willamette's second marker, from a rare breakaway by an attacker.

In all the teams combined to accumulate 23 shots.

de Guzman ripped off four of Whitman's 12 shots while first-year teammate Pagan Hetherington notched three.

The Whitman women take to the road for their next outings, squaring off against host George Fox University on Saturday morning followed by Sunday's match at Lewis & Clark College.