SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University hopes that a return home will rebuild momentum this weekend when the Pirates host Pacific University (Saturday) and Linfield University (Sunday) to close out the first half of the Northwest Conference schedule. Both matches will start at noon.
See the Whitworth women's soccer schedule for live links to this weekend's matches. Fans are encouraged, but not required, to wear masks at outdoor events with less than 500 attendees, per the Governor's current directives.
The Pirates: Whitworth is 5-3-2 overall and 2-2-2 in the NWC following last week's matches at Lewis & Clark and George Fox.
The Bucs started slow at L&C and the Pioneers took advantage for a 2-0 win. L&C outshot Whitworth 5-3 in the first half and built an early 1-0 lead. They took advantage of a counter opportunity to double the margin midway through the second half, even though the Pirates outshot the Pioneers 6-3 after halftime. Riley Martinson led Whitworth with a pair of shots on-goal.
The Pirates played George Fox to a scoreless draw on Sunday. Kate Nelson made ten saves to post her fifth shutout of the season, which allowed the Bucs to come away with a point despite the fact that the Bruins had a 16-9 edge in shots, including a 10-4 advantage in shots on-goal.
Building a Wall: Kate Nelson has been strong in goal for the Pirates. Nelson has a 0.77 goals-against average this season and has stopped 87% of the shots she has faced. She leads all Northwest Conference keepers in minutes played (940) and ranks second in shutouts with five.
Finding Balance: Whitworth is very balanced offensively this season. Ten different Pirates have scored the team's 14 goals. Gabriella Coprivnicar, Macey Morales, Ireland Eaton and Kendall Sharp each have two. Seven players have combined for the Bucs' nine assists. Coprivnicar and Morales each have two.
The Opponents: Pacific University comes into Saturday's match 3-5-1 overall and 1-4-1 in the NWC. The Boxers tied Linfield 1-1 last Wednesday, then pushed league-leading PLU hard before losing 1-0 at home on Saturday. Freshman forward Tessa Bretschieder leads her squad with three goals this season. Whitworth and Pacific have not played since 2019 when they tied 0-0 in Forest Grove and the Pirates won 2-0 in Spokane.
Linfield University heads into Saturday's match at Whitman 1-7-2 overall and 0-5-1 in the NWC. After the Wildcats tied Pacific last Wednesday, they fell 2-1 at home to Puget Sound on Sunday. Junior forward Laney Green has three goals and one assist in 2021. The Pirates and Wildcats split in 2019, each winning on its own field.
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 stay at home on October 16th and 17th against Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound, the top two teams in the NWC standings.
