By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Led by a goal and an assist from Alan Hernandez (Jr., M, Tigard, OR/Tigard HS), the Willamette University men's soccer team shut out Whitman College, 3-0, in Northwest Conference action on Sunday, Sept. 18. Willamette advanced its record to 3-2 on the season, including 1-1 in the NWC. Whitman dropped to 4-4 overall, 1-1 in the NWC.

Hernandez opened the scoring when he sent the ball into the net on a penalty kick at 36:04. The spot kick gave WU a 1-0 lead until Austin Arnold (Jr./So., M, Portland, OR/Grant HS) added a second goal for the Bearcats at 43:38 to give Willamette a 2-0 halftime lead.

Whitman outshot the Bearcats 9-5 in the first half, but the Bearcats held a 3-2 advantage in shots on goal.

In the second half, Whitman tried to battle back, gaining a 9-6 margin in total shots and a 3-2 edge in shots on target, but couldn't cut into Willamette's two-goal lead.

The Bearcats tallied the game's third goal at 86:50 on a shot by Sonachi Umeh (So., M, Gardena, CA/Loyola/N. Torrance HS/U. of New Hampshire). Hernandez registered an assist on the play.

Umeh became the seventh Bearcat to score a goal this season, as each of Willamette's seven goals has been recorded by a different player. Hernandez leads the Bearcats with two assists and four total points.

Whitman earned a 18-11 advantage in total shots and an 8-6 edge in corner kicks, but each team had five shots on goal.

Josh Fuentes (Sr., GK, Salem, OR/South Salem HS), Willamette's starting goalkeeper, contributed five saves over the first 86:52 of the game. Matthew Twyman (Fr., GK, San Diego, CA/San Diego HS of Int'l Studies) completed the shutout over the final 3:08. Owen Davis-Bower made two saves for Whitman.

Hernandez of Willamette topped all players on either team with three total shots. A total of eight Bearcats and 11 Whitman players each took at least one shot.

After playing two road games this weekend, the Bearcats will return home to take on Pacific University at Sparks Field on Saturday, Sept. 24 during Alumni Weekend. Game time is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (PDT).