by Caitlin Tortorici

After three overtime ties, the Whitman women’s soccer team lost by a single point to the Whitworth Pirates in the Northwest Women’s Conference on Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Whitman Athletic Fields.

It looked like the home team had an early lead in the bag when Missionary forward Sammie Arthur bounced a shot on goal from the far right side.

Whitworth keeper Leah Motz had no chance of making the save, but a Pirate defender cleared Arthur’s shot.

After twenty-five minutes of back-and-forth, a Whitman defender’s slide tackle missed the ball and knocked down an offender, granting Pirate player Jael Hagerott a penalty kick. Hagerott scored her team’s winning point: her fourth goal of the season.

Whitman nearly evened the score in the second half when first-year midfielder Corina Gabbert nudged an uncontested header just wide of the near post.

Despite the loss, the Whitman team put on a stellar performance against the second-ranked team in the NWC.

While Whitworth out-shot Whitman 13-6, the Pirates put only three shots on goal, just one more than the Missionaries. Junior Kristen Berndt took four shots, one of them on goal.

The Pirates maintained their grip on second place in the conference, upping their record to 6-1-1. The missionaries are currently 1-3-3.