8th-ranked Pirates Play Widenor in First Round
SPOKANE, Wash. - Whitworth University will participate in the nation's oldest collegiate soccer tournament this weekend when the Pirates play Widenor University in the first round of the Mayor's Cup Tournament in Oneonta, New York. Whitworth comes into the tournament 2-0 after a pair of shutouts at home last weekend. The Pirates defeated Augsburg (Minn.) 2-0 after scoring a pair of goals in the last five minutes of the first half. Nic Shaw (Jr., Helena, Mont.) and Justin Mikkola (So., Missoula, Mont.) each scored his first goal of the season. Whitworth then defeated UC Santa Cruz 1-0 in a key NCAA west region match up. Cameron Bushey (Jr., Spokane, Wash.) scored on a free kick from just outside the box 15 minutes into the second half, while Brian Sherpe (Jr., Centennial, Colo.) made five key second-half saves to preserve the shutout. Nothing Yet: With strong play by Pirate keepers Brian Sherpe and Kyle Novak (Fr., Eugene, Ore.), along with outstanding defending from Shaw, Dion Coxe (Jr., Eugene, Ore.), Nate Spangler (Jr., Rio Rancho, N.M.) and Taylor Willi (Jr., Grants Pass, Ore.), Whitworth has yet to allow a goal this season. Prestigious Event: The Mayor's Cup, sponsored by the City of Oneonta and hosted by Oneonta State and Hartwick College, is 35 years old. There are three separate tournaments running at the same time, a Division I men's tournament, along with Division III men's and women's tournaments. The Division III men's schedule is as follows (all matches at Oneonta State's Red Dragon Field): Moving Up: Whitworth is ranked 8th in the first regular season NSCAA/HendrickCars.com National Rankings of 2010. The Pirates had been ranked 12th in the preseason poll. The entire poll can be found here: http://www.nscaa.com/seniorRes.php?it=1223. Opponents: Widenor, located in Chester, Pennsylvania, is a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference, the oldest and largest Division III conference in the country. The Pride are 3-0 this season, having outscored its three opponents 11-1. Widenor has a match tonight (Wednesday) at home against Swarthmore before heading to New York. Brad Zielger has two goals and two assists so far this season. Oneonta State is part of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC). The Red Dragons are 1-1-1 so far this season and are defending champions of the DIII men's Mayor's Cup. Dan Josepher leads the team with two goals scored. Montclair State has been a regular power in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), winning four conference titles in a row. The Red Hawks are 1-1-1 this season heading into a match tonight (Wednesday) at New York City Tech. Coming up: Whitworth open Northwest Conference play on the road next weekend at Pacific University (Friday night) and George Fox (Sunday afternoon). Key College Soccer links:
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