SPOKANE, Wash.- It might be a stretch to call Saturday's Northwest Conference men's soccer contest between Whitworth and Whitman the "Game of the Year" in the NWC, but there is no doubt that a winner in that match will take a big step toward the 2008 conference title. The match will kick off at 4:00 p.m. on Whitman's Athletics Field. Click here for the NWC standings. Whitworth (12-2-2 overall, 8-2-1 NWC, 25 points) is coming off of a 1-1 Tie at PLU last Saturday, and a 3-2 victory at UPS on Sunday.
Goal Scorer: Whitworth's Caleb Barnhill (Sr., F, Sultan, Wash.) currently leads the Northwest Conference in goals per game (0.62) 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 Honored: Eddy Prugh (Fr., F, Bozeman, Mont.) has been named the Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He scored the Pirates' only goal in the 1-1 tie at Pacific Lutheran, then added the eventual match-winner in Whitworth's 3-2 victory at Puget Sound. He has seven goals this season, and five of those goals have come in the last four matches. Scoring Machine: The Pirates lead the Northwest Conference in all offensive categories this season. Whitworth is first in total points per match (7.12), first in goals per match (2.56) and first in assists per match (2.00). The Bucs score nearly double the number of goals per match as Whitman (1.35), the second highest average. 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 64 shots on goal (4.0 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 moved up in the top 25 this week to 14th in the NSCAA/adidas Division III coaches poll, moving up six spots from the October 21st 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 132-43-18 (.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: Whitman (9-2-6 overall, 7-2-2 NWC, 23 points) has a chance to win its first NWC title in men's soccer since 1981. The Missionaries dropped a heart-breaking 1-0 decision in double overtime at UPS last Saturday before rebounding to win 1-0 at PLU on Sunday. Whitman has had the best defensive team in the league this season, led by all-star goalkeeper Brett Axelrod, who posts an impressive 0.46 goals against average. In the teams' first meeting, Whitworth won 3-2 on October 5th in Spokane, as Whitman allowed a season high number of goals but played much of the match with only ten players. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Soccer > Sports Releases > |
