SPOKANE, Wash. – After dropping a pair of tough games, Whitworth University will try to bounce back with two road Northwest Conference contests this week. The Pirates play at Whitman College on Wednesday at 4:00, and then travel to Salem, Oregon to play Willamette University on Sunday at noon.
See the Whitworth soccer schedule for live links to this weekend's matches. Please check the schools' guidelines above for the latest information about attending the matches.
The Pirates: Whitworth is 7-5-2 overall and 4-4-2 in the NWC following last week's matches against Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound. The Pirates remain in fifth place in the league standings.
Pacific Lutheran got two first half goals and ended up with a 2-0 win over the Pirates on Saturday. The Lutes controlled much of the play, outshooting the Bucs 14-5, including a 9-0 edge in shots on-goal. Kate Nelson made seven saves to keep Whitworth within reach.
Sunday's match ended with exactly the same 2-0 score after Puget Sound scored once in each half. The first place Loggers outshot the Pirates 23-7, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on-goal. Nelson made five more saves for Whitworth. Gabriella Coprivnicar got two shots on-target for the Pirates' offense.
Building a Wall: Kate Nelson has been strong in goal for the Pirates. Nelson has a 0.83 goals-against average this season and has stopped 85% of the shots she has faced. She leads all Northwest Conference keepers in minutes played (1300) and ranks second in shutouts with seven.
Finding Balance: Whitworth is very balanced offensively this season. Eleven different Pirates have scored the team's 19 goals. Gabriella Coprivnicar has five while Maggie Ames, Macey Morales, Ireland Eaton and Kendall Sharp each have two. Seven players have combined for the Bucs' nine assists. Coprivnicar has three and Morales has two.
The Opponents: The Whitman Blues are 1-11-1 overall and 1-9 in the NWC. However, that record may not reflect how dangerous they can be. Whitman knocked off PLU 1-0 on Sunday for its first conference win. Six of the team's nine losses have come by a single goal. Sophomore Chaney Heinbough leads the team with two goals this season. First-year Virginia Hunt is the NWC's Offensive Player of the Week for scoring the only tally in the upset of PLU. Whitworth defeated Whitman 2-0 in Spokane on September 22nd, thanks to goals by Laura Pierson and Ireland Eaton.
Willamette University (3-11 overall, 2-8 NWC) will host Whitman on Saturday before Whitworth visits on Sunday. The Bearcats have dropped seven matches in a row, including last week's setbacks to Linfield (2-1) and Pacific (1-0). Senior forward Emma Blackburn leads the team with thee goals this season. Three other players have two each. Kaitlin Speer and Kendall Sharp scored second half goals to help Whitworth break a 1-1 halftime tie in a 3-1 win over Willamette in Spokane on September 26th.
The Coach: Bryan Olson, previously the top assistant coach for the highly successful Whitworth men's soccer program, was named as the head coach for the Pirate women's soccer team in February of 2016 and enters his sixth year leading the Bucs in 221. He is 44-38-8 in five seasons as a head coach, including a 12-5-3 overall record in 2018 and a 10-4-2 mark in the Northwest Conference (third place).
Olson was the top assistant coach for the Whitworth men's soccer team for six seasons. His title was elevated to Associate Head Coach ahead of the 2015 season. Over that time the Pirate men's team posted a record of 66-17-12 and made the NCAA Division III Tournament three times (2012, 2014 and 2015).
Coming up next: Whitworth will host Lewis & Clark and George Fox on October 30th and 31st in the final home matches of the season.
