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NEWBERG, Ore.- Coming off of a disappointing loss on Saturday, Whitworth jumped to an early lead and went on to defeat George Fox 3-1 in a Northwest Conference soccer match on Sunday afternoon at Morse Field.

Bushey's first goal of 2008 was the match-winner

Whitworth improved to 9-2-1 overall and 5-2 (15 points) in the NWC. Paired with Whitman's 1-1 tie at Pacific, the Pirates moved back in front of the Missionaries (4-1-2, 14 points) and Pacific Lutheran (4-2-1, 13 points) in the NWC standings.

Whitworth got out to a lead in the 21st minute when Caleb Barnhill (Sr., F, Sultan, Wash.) lobbed a shot over George Fox keeper Jake Maguire in the 21st minute for his eighth goal of the season. Ben Rotert (Sr., D, Bozeman, Mont.) and Brent Zahn (Jr., MF, Eagle River, Alaska) had assists on the goal.

Cameron Bushey gave Whitworth a 2-0 lead just before halftime when he smoked a free kick into the upper-right corner of the net from 20 yards in the 44th minute for his first goal of 2008.

Elly Bulega (Jr., F, Tacoma, Wash.) scored his fifth goal of the season and second of the weekend in the 52nd minute. Taylor Willi (Fr., MF, Grants Pass, Ore.) fired a hard shot that Maguire stopped, but could not control and Bulega was there to clean up the rebound for a goal.

Brian Story got the Bruins (2-8-3 overall, 1-4-2 NWC) on the board when he headed a long shot over Whitworth keeper Jeff Srock (Jr., GK, Colbert, Wash.) in the 74th minute.

Whitworth outshot George Fox 24-11 and had a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. The Pirates also had a 5-1 edge in corner kicks. Srock finished with five saves for Whitworth, while Maguire had six stops for George Fox.

Whitworth returns home to host Willamette (Saturday) and Linfield (Sunday) in a pair of Northwest Conference matches next weekend.