McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Netting his second multi-goal game against Linfield this season, former Wildcat Moi Diaz led the Whitworth Pirates to a 3-0 Northwest Conference victory Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field.
 
1st Half
Intercepting a Linfield back-pass, Diaz opened the scoring 3:27 into the match. After picking off the pass, the McMinnville native beat Wildcats' goalkeeper Eli Peckham for his sixth goal of the season.
 
The one-time Wildcat netted his second goal of the day in the 27th minute. Diaz took a couple touches from 18 yards out before unleashing a screamer to the upper-left corner of the Linfield net. Peckham was able to get a hand to the attempt, but could not divert the ball away. The goal marked Diaz's second-career multi-goal game against the Wildcats.
 
2nd Half
Linfield's best opportunity to get on the score sheet came in the 51st minute. When Wildcat Josh Morales was taken down in the box by Pirates' goalkeeper Jesus Nunez, Linfield captain Dylan Shepherd stepped up to take the spot kick. Shepherd sent Nunes the wrong direction but unfortunately sent his penalty kick high overhead.
 
With the momentum on the Pirates' side, Whitworth was awarded a penalty kick one minute later. Jonah Snyder slotted the spot-kick attempt into the bottom-left corner, giving the Pirates a 3-0 cushion.
 
Nunes came up with a couple of big saves within the span of three minutes later on in the half. Linfield's Malachi Stalberg skipped his way past three defenders, only to see his shot turned away by Nunes at the near post in the 66th minute. Three minutes later, Stalberg cannoned another shot from 18 yards away, only to watch as Nunes denied the effort.
 
Chris Palmer nearly put the Wildcats on the board with 15 minutes remaining but his sharp header from 12 yards out was tipped over the crossbar by Nunes. Peckham recorded a late save when he denied Britton Clifford a point-blank opportunity with 10 minutes to go.
 
Leading Wildcats
Stalberg, Palmer and Tony Quesnell led the 'Cats with three shots each. Linfield outshot the Pirates 19-16 but fell short in the shots-on-goal category 7-6. Peckham recorded four saves.
 
Top Pirates
Eric Espinoza recorded the lone assist in the contest on Diaz's second goal. Nunes ended the day with six saves. The triumph gives Whitworth a three-game win streak, with two of those wins coming against the Wildcats. Diaz moved to No. 2 on the NWC scoring chart with seven goals this year.
 
What It Means
Linfield has found wins hard to come by this season, falling to 0-8 in NWC play and 2-10-0 overall. Its last victory came on Sept. 8 at Multnomah (1-0) in non-conference play. Whitworth improves to fourth place in the NWC with a 4-3-1 mark. The Pirates last fell to the Wildcats in a 2-1 defeat on Oct. 11, 2003.
 
Next
Following the women's soccer contest Sunday, Linfield's men host Whitman at 2:30 p.m. at Maxwell Field. In their previous matchup, Linfield was edged by the Blues 2-1 with the sole Wildcats' goal coming from Marshall Denley.