Filip Timotija | Staff Writer
Whitworth men’s soccer logged one win and one loss this past weekend. The Pirates lost 3-0 to Pacific Lutheran on Saturday, Oct. 23, and won 3-1 against Puget Sound on Sunday, Oct. 24.
The Lutes took the lead after 10 minutes of play when Keeton Heggerness crossed the ball to Cris Lozano who hit the right side of the goal with his right foot.
The Pirates were not discouraged by the early goal as they kept attacking the Lute defense with long passes on the sideline.
After 45 minutes of play, Pacific Lutheran still had a minimal advantage going into the second half, but Whitworth was the team applying pressure.
The Pirates had more shots (6-5), corner kicks (3-1) and a higher possession total.
Whitworth came out aggressive in the second half looking to erase the deficit.
Brandt Kelly countered by scoring the second goal for Pacific Lutheran after receiving a cross pass from Cris Lozano.
Sam Erickson put the game away for Pacific Lutheran by scoring another assisted goal. Archie Caldwell was the facilitator of the final goal.
Despite the loss, the Pirates were a tough matchup for the Lutes. Whitworth had more total shots (13-10), more corner kicks (6-2) and a higher possession of the ball (54%-46%).
Whitworth head coach Jeremy Payne reflected on the tough loss to Pacific Lutheran.
Payne said, “I thought we controlled the tempo of the game, we created more quality chances and we had more possessions. I told the guys before the game that your first chance might be your best chance, and for us it came in the first five minutes. If we put one of the two away, we probably have a different game.”
Coach Payne also pointed out what his team could’ve done differently.
“We let them get ahead of us. One good chance for them, and they got it,” Payne said. “We felt like we were on the front foot in the second half. Same thing – had some chances, didn’t put them away, didn’t have conviction with the way we hit balls. You find yourself with a scoreboard that looks worse than the game should reflect.”
The second game of the weekend ended in a dominant Pirate win.
Puget Sound took the lead in the 32nd minute after Cale Spense dribbled through the box and scored with his left foot.
Whitworth immediately responded with Andyn Maldonado scoring a header in the middle of the box in the 35th minute.
The Pirates kept the aggressiveness at a high level, and it paid off because in the 38th minute, Jose Bautista scored another header for Whitworth in the middle of the box after a corner kick.
The first half ended with Puget Sound having more shot attempts (9-8), but Whitworth leading in every other statistical category.
The Pirates had more saves (4-2), more corner kicks (6-2) and a higher possession of the ball.
Whitworth controlled the game in the second half by accumulating more shot attempts which forced Puget Sound to defend closer to their box.
The Pirates scored their third goal in the 90th minute of the game after Dominic Gusman crossed the ball to Beckett Arthur who scored in the box with his right foot.
Whitworth finished the game with more shot attempts (17-14), more saves (7-4) and twice as many corner kicks (10-5).
The Pirates are on the road next weekend. Whitworth is heading to McMinnville, Oregon to face off against Linfield on Saturday, Oct. 30. Sunday’s game is in Salem, Oregon where the Pirates will play Willamette on Oct.31. Both games start at 2:30pm.