SPOKANE, Wash.- Whitworth University will face stiff road tests in men's soccer this week at Pacific University of Oregon (Saturday) and George Fox University (Sunday). Both matches are scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m.

The 18th-ranked Pirates, aiming for their second straight Northwest Conference title and fourth in five years, are coming off of a 3-2 overtime victory over Whitman College that gave Whitworth (8-1-1 overall, 4-1 NWC) sole possession of first place in the NWC standings.

John Prugh

Goal Scorer: Whitworth's Caleb Barnhill (Sr., F, Sultan, Wash.) currently leads the Northwest Conference in goals per game (0.70) and in total goals (7). Barnhill had the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over Pacific Lutheran on September 28th.

Prugh, too: Team captain John Prugh (Sr., F, Bozeman, Mont.) is also among the NWC scoring leaders. Prugh, who has five goals and four assists this season, is tied with Barnhill for the conference lead in total points (14) and is third in goals scored. He is also tied with teammate Travis Jette (Sr., D, Missoula, Mont.) for the conference lead in assists (4).

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 and Ben Rotert (Sr., D, Bozeman, Mont.) to form the bulk of Whitworth's defensive line. The trio has limited opponents to 40 shots on goal (4.0 per match) this season and have been a big reason the Bucs have a team goals-against average of 0.76.

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 has risen back to 18th in the NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division III coaches poll this week after dropping to 20th last week. The Bucs are currently ranked third 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 128-42-17 (.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:
http://www.whitworth.edu/Athletics/Teams/Soccer/livestats/xlive.htm

The Opponents: Pacific is 5-3-3 overall this season and 1-1-3 in the conference. Last week the Boxers tied 1-1 at Willamette before falling 2-1 at Puget Sound. Danny Williams leads the team with five goals and two assists. Michael Iacolucci adds four goals, including on only 16 seconds into the match at UPS. Last season Whitworth defeated Pacific 3-0 at home, but only 1-0 in Forest Grove.

George Fox University is 2-6-3 overall, 1-2-2 in the NWC. The Bruins lost 3-0 at Pacific Lutheran last Saturday, but bounced back to defeat Linfield 3-1 at home on Sunday. Brennan Altringer has three goals and two assists this season. Last season Whitworth beat George Fox 2-0 on the road, and survived a 4-3 shootout with the Bruins at home.