NEWBERG, Ore. - Mackenzie Grow squeezed the only goal of the game through a gauntlet of George Fox University defenders early in the second half, giving the visiting Whitworth University Pirates a 1-0 win over the Bruins in a Northwest Conference women's soccer match Sunday afternoon here at the Austin Sports Complex.

Both teams' defenses were stingy throughout the game.  Whitworth totaled 15 shots and George Fox 10, but good opportunities were few and far between as the Pirates had only five shots on goal and the Bruins only four.  Each team had only one shot on goal in the first half.

Whitworth maintained possession on its offensive end for the first few minutes of the second half and finally caught a break at the 50:18 mark.  After the ball crisscrossed in front of the net several times, with the Bruins scrambling to clear it, Grow settled a loose ball on the right side of the box and sent a liner toward the goal mouth from about 12 yards out.  The shot ricocheted off a couple of Bruin defenders before finding its way through and past a surprised George Fox keeper Alyssa Montero, who could not track the ball as it ping-ponged around in the middle.

Grow's goal, her first of the season, was just enough to secure the first win of the season for the Pirates.  Whitworth goalkeeper Callie Bergstrom earned the shutout with four saves, while Montero had four saves for the Bruins in the hard-luck defeat. 

NEXT:  George Fox (1-4-2, NWC 1-2) hosts Linfield College Saturday at 12:00 noon in its only game next week ... Whitworth (1-3-1, NWC 1-1-1) returns home to host the ten-time defending conference champion University of Puget Sound Saturday at noon.