SPOKANE, Wash.- Whitworth heads into the final weekend of the season within reach of claiming a second straight Northwest Conference men's soccer championship, and the school's fourth conference title in the last five years. Whitworth holds a two-point lead over Whitman and a four point edge on Pacific (Ore.) in the standings heading into Friday's match with George Fox and Saturday's contest against Pacific. Click here for the NWC standings. Whitworth (12-2-3 overall, 8-2-2 NWC, 26 points) is coming off of a 0-0 Tie at Whitman last Saturday that enabled the 14th-ranked Pirates to hold onto sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
Goal Scorer: Whitworth's Caleb Barnhill (Sr., F, Sultan, Wash.) continues to lead the Northwest Conference in goals per game (0.59) and in total goals (10). He also leads in total points (22) and has two game-winning goals this season - the only tally in a 1-0 win at Linfield and a late score in a 3-2 win over Pacific Lutheran on September 28th. Prugh Two Too: Eddy Prugh (Fr., F, Bozeman, Mont.) and John Prugh (Sr., F, Bozeman, Mont.) have proven a dangerous combination this season. The brothers have combined for 12 goals and seven assists, with Eddy among the NWC leaders in goals scored (7) and John among the leaders in assists (5). Scoring Machine: The Pirates lead the Northwest Conference in all offensive categories this season. Whitworth is first in total points per match (6.71), first in goals per match (2.41) and first in assists per match (1.88). The Montana Mountain: Bryan Olson (Jr., D, Missoula, Mont.), who has led the Pirates in minutes played each of his first two seasons, joins with Travis Jette (Sr., Missoula, Mont.) and Ben Rotert (Sr., D, Bozeman, Mont.) to form the bulk of Whitworth's defensive line. The trio has limited opponents to 69 shots on goal (4.1 per match) this season. Powerhouse Schedule: Whitworth took on five non-conference opponents that posted a cumulative record of 70-23-4 in 2007. Three of them (Gustavus Adolphus, UC Santa Cruz and Wisconsin-Whitewater) were participants in the NCAA Division III tournament last season, while Cal Lutheran was co-champion of the SCIAC. National Rankings: Whitworth held serve in the top 25 this week at 14th in the NSCAA/adidas Division III coaches poll, the same position as the October 28th rating. The Bucs are currently ranked second in the west region. Click here for the latest NSCAA national DIII poll. The latest NSCAA West Region rankings are here. The Coach: The fall of 2008 marks Sean Bushey's 13th season as the head men's soccer coach at Whitworth. No coach has ever served longer in that capacity at Whitworth. Bushey, who has his USSF "A" license, has a 142-69-22 record after 12 seasons as the Bucs' head men's soccer coach (152-75-24 in 13 years overall). He has led the Pirates to three Northwest Conference titles in the last four years, and four titles overall. Last season (2007) Whitworth won an NWC title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament. In 2005 he led Whitworth to the NCAA Division III Final Four after the Pirates won their second straight NWC championship. It was the first time a men's soccer team had repeated as Northwest Conference champions in more than ten years. In 2004 he led Whitworth to its second NWC title in his tenure and to the second round of the NCAA tournament, while in 2001 he led the Pirates to a conference championship and the NCAA Regional Finals. He has been named Northwest Conference Men's Coach of the Year three times. Over the last nine-plus years (including this season), the Whitworth men are 132-43-19 (.730). Live Stats Offered: Live statistics of all Pirate home matches this season will be available on the Whitworth University Men's Soccer web page. The link for the matches is: The Opponents: George Fox (2-13-3, 1-9-2) heads into the week looking to break a seven match losing streak. The Bruins lost 1-0 at Linfield last Saturday, then fell 5-1 at home to Pacific Lutheran on Sunday. Brennan Altringer leads GFU with five goals and three assists this season. On October 12th Whitworth won 3-1 at George Fox in the teams' first meeting of the year. Pacific (10-4-4 overall, 6-2-4 NWC) still has a mathematical chance to claim the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. If the Boxers beat both Whitman and Whitworth, on the road this weekend, paired with a Pirate loss or tie against George Fox, the Boxers would be NWC champions. Last weekend Pacific kept its hopes alive with a 3-1 win against UPS on Saturday and a 2-0 win over Willamette on Sunday, both at home. Danny Williams is within reach of becoming the school's all-time leading scorer. The Boxers handed the Pirates one of their two NWC losses this season, 3-1 at Forest Grove on October 11th. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Soccer > Sports Releases > |
