SPOKANE, Wash.- Whitworth College leaves Wednesday for the NCAA Division III men's soccer championship finals in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the Pirates are set to face the Gustavus Adolphus Gusties on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in the second semifinal match. Whitworth goes into the weekend with a record of 19-1-1, while Gustavus is 16-3-5.

Listen and Watch: Pirate fans can follow all of the action from Greensboro from either of the following websites: The host site set up by Greensboro College is: http://www.gborocollege.edu/athletics/soccerfinals.htm. Action can also be followed at www.NCAAsports.com. A live audio broadcast and live stats will be available for both semifinal matches. Saturday's championship match will be video streamed live beginning at 2 p.m. (PST).

About the Pirates: To say that 2005 has been one of the great seasons in Whitworth soccer history would be unforgivable understatement. After all, the Pirates have set team records for wins (19), winning percentage (.929 to date) and depth into the NCAA Division III men's tournament. They have accumulated the second highest goal and point totals in team history, and put together the second longest winning and unbeaten streaks in school history. And it has been a team effort, leading Whitworth to its second consecutive Northwest Conference title and third in the last five years.

Thirteen different players have scored for Whitworth, and ten of those individuals have at least three goals. Junior All-NWC forward Niko Varlamos leads the team in goals in 2005 (13), while junior All-NWC midfielder Ali Seyedali leads the squad and the Northwest Conference in assists (13). But neither is the team leader in total points. That honor belongs to two-time NWC Defensive Player of the Year Todd Sabrowski (Sr., D), who has 11 goals and six assists for 28 total points.

The Pirates have also been solid on the defensive back line, anchored by senior Trevor Osborne in the center. A Second Team All-NWC selection, Osborne leads the Pirates in minutes played. Junior goal keeper Kevin Bostock has a 12-1-1 record in 14 matches with a 0.93 goals against average. Freshman Scott Barnum has also performed well in extended time, with a 7-0 record and 0.67 GAA.

Whitworth went 3-1 in non-conference games, beating eventual SCIAC champion Redlands 3-1 in the season opener. The only loss was to NAIA power Simon Fraser (B.C.), 4-3 in overtime.

The Pirates rolled through the Northwest Conference season with a record of 13-0-1. Whitworth handed the University of Puget Sound its only defeats of 2005, winning twice by scores of 2-1 and scoring four of the five total goals UPS allowed all season. Whitworth led the NWC in scoring by a wide margin, averaging 3.3 goals per game and allowing only 0.64 goals per contest.

In the post season, Whitworth hosted Redlands in a rematch of the season opening contest. Led by team captain Jon Carlson, the Pirates defeated the Bulldogs 4-0, scoring seven of the ten goals the Redlands team had allowed all season. In the Sectionals, also hosted by Whitworth, the Pirates defeated regular season IIAC champion Wartburg 3-0. The sectional final, against 2003 NCAA Division III champion Trinity (Texas), was a 2-1 thriller. The Pirates trailed 1-0 most of the second half before senior forward Chris Johnson scored his ninth goal of the season to pull the Pirates into a tie with seven minutes to play. Sabrowski ended the game four minutes into overtime with a direct free kick.

Some of the other records broken or tied this season include most assists in a game (4) by Seyedali and most career assists (34) by Sabrowski.

2005 Men's Soccer Statistics

2005 Men's Soccer Schedule/Results

2005 Men's Soccer News

About the Gusties: The Gusties, who finished the regular season as co-champions of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a mark of 7-1-2, will be making their first appearance in the Championship Round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gusties advanced to the Elite Eight last year before losing to UC-Santa Cruz 1-0 in San Antonio, Texas.

The Gusties are led by a talented group of eight seniors including midfielder Tore Johnston, midfielder Chris Pinahs, midfielder Bobby Kroog, forward Jeff Aasness, forward Caleb Bousu, defender Jordan Iblings, midfielder Jon Astry, and defender Grant Morlock. This group has compiled a mark of 62-9-14 during the past four seasons. 2004 All-American Bobby Kroog is the team's leading scorer with 14 goals and 3 assists for 31 points. Kroog was recently named the 2005 Player of the Year by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference soccer coaches. Kroog has also scored a goal in three straight games for Gustavus. Forward Caleb Bousu is the team's second leading scorer with nine goals and seven assists for 25 points. Jon Astry and Jordan Iblings joined Kroog on the all-conference team. Junior Tyler Garry is the team's primary goalkeeper. Garry has posted a mark of 13-1-3 with ten shutouts and a goals against average of 0.35.

Common Opponents: Whitworth and Gustavus have never met on the soccer pitch. The teams do have two common opponents this season. Whitworth defeated University of St. Thomas 3-2 on September 25th in Spokane. The Gusties and Tommies played to a 0-0 draw on October 12th. Gustavus lost 2-1 to Wartburg at home in its second match of the season. Whitworth defeated Wartburg 3-0 in the sectional semifinal played in Spokane on November 19th.

The Other Half: Messiah (22-0-0), the defending national champion, will play Plattsburgh State (21-1-0) at 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Friday in the other semifinal. The Falcons come into the championship round with the nation's top ranking, a position they have held all season. Messiah (Pa.) defeated College of New Jersey 3-0 to reach the final four. Messiah is making its sixth final four appearance and is a three time national champion. The Falcons are led by Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year Kai Kasiguran, a sophomore midfielder with six goals and five assists. Senior David McClellan, the 2004 Commonwealth Player of the Year, has 19 goals and five assists. Junior goalkeeper Dustin Shambach has a 0.42 goals against average with 13 shutouts this season.

Plattsburgh State (N.Y.) is also making its first trip to the final four after beating Williams College 1-0 in the sectional final. The Cardinals are led by SUNYAC Player of the Year Jason Sousa, a senior midfielder with six goals and 10 assists. Senior forward Mike Figliola was an all-conference selection after scoring 16 goals with three assists. Senior keeper Zach Manning has a 0.48 goals against average with seven shutouts.