Whitworth University’s Micheal Ramos broke a scoreless tie in the 84^th minute with his 14 goal of the season to propel the 12^th-ranked Pirates to a 1-0 win over Covenant College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday night.

Whitworth, now 16-1-3 in 2014, will advance to the second round on Saturday in Atlanta to face Berry College, which defeated host and 11^th-ranked Emory University 2-1 in double-overtime earlier in the day on Friday.  The match is slated for a 6:00 PM start at the Woodruff P.E. Center.

Both teams played solid defense in the first half, combining fort just seven shots during the frame.  Covenant took five shots during the first 45 minutes of the game, including one on goal, while Whitworth registered a pair of shots, both on target.

Ramos finally broke through for the game-winning strike with just over six minutes remaining in regulation.  Eric Espinoza sent a perfectly-placed through ball to Ramos, who when on a break towards the end line, before launching a shot to the inside of the far post and into the net.

Whitworth withstood a late scoring chance from Covenant, when a header from Snoopy Davidson off a corner kick in the 89^th minute was cleared off the line by the Pirates defense, keeping the clean sheet intact.

Covenant finished the game with an edge in shots, 8-6, with each team registering three shots on goal.  Both goalkeepers – Daniel Kubin for Covenant and Timmy Costa for Whitworth – played the whole game, making two saves apiece.

Covenant ended its 2014 campaign with a 15-5-2 record.