SPOKANE, Wash.- The Whitworth University men's soccer team will take a five-match unbeaten streak on the road this weekend to Willamette University and George Fox University. The Pirates opened the Northwest Conference portion of their schedule with wins over Pacific University (3-0) and Linfield College (2-0) last weekend.

Ben Rotert

NWC Player of the Week: Ben Rotert (Whitworth, Jr., D, Bozeman, Mont. - CC of Spokane) is this week's NWC Defensive Player of the Week after he led a defensive effort that limited Pacific and Linfield to a combined five shots on goal. His sliding defensive kick vs. Linfield kept the ball out of the goal. .

Starting Well: Whitworth got off to a strong start in NWC matches with a pair of shutout wins last week. The Pirates defeated Pacific 3-0 in Saturday's match before knocking off previously 17th-ranked Linfield 2-0 on Sunday. Keith Kirsch (Jr., F, Colbert, Wash. - CC of Spokane) had two goals and an assist to lead the Whitworth offense over the weekend.

Regionally Ranked: Whitworth continues to move up in both major regional rankings this week. The Pirates are ranked 3rd in the region by D3kicks.com, using the same computer algorithm that the NCAA will use at the end of the year to determine at-large bids to the NCAA tournament. The Bucs moved up to 5th in the NCAA West Region poll released by the NSCAA.

Coming Up: The Pirates will play at Willamette on Saturday and George Fox on Sunday, both at 2:30 p.m. following women's matches against the same schools.

Willamette is 2-3-1 overall and 0-2 in the NWC so far this season. The Bearcats lost 3-1 at George Fox last Wednesday before dropping a 5-0 decision at nationally-ranked Puget Sound on Sunday. Last season Whitworth defeated Willamette 4-1 at home and 2-1 on the road.

George Fox is 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the NWC. After opening with last week's 3-1 win over Willamette, the Bruins went to Pacific Lutheran over the weekend and were beaten 4-0. Whitworth swept George Fox last season, winning 3-0 at home and 6-2 on the road.

The Coach: Sean Bushey is 131-66-22 in his 12th season as head coach at Whitworth (he is 141-72-24 in his 13th season overall as a head coach.) Bushey is a two-time winner of the NWC Coach of the Year award (2001, 2004) and has led his team to conference titles in 2001, 2004 and 2005. In 2005 Whitworth advanced to the NCAA Division III final four. Since the start of the 1999 season, the Whitworth men are 109-38-16.