SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University women's soccer team will open the second half of Northwest Conference play this week at home against Willamette (Saturday at Noon) and Linfield (Sunday at Noon). The 16th-ranked Pirates are 8-3-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the NWC after winning road matches at Pacific (3-0) and George Fox (3-2) last weekend. Those wins moved the Pirates back into fourth place and, more importantly, gave a good indication the team is coming out of its goal-scoring funk. Click here for NWC Soccer Standings.
Oakes Continues Hot Stretch: Lindsey Oakes (Jr., MF, Boise, Idaho), the Pirates leading scorer last season with 10 goals, found the net twice again last weekend at Pacific, and also added an assist at George Fox. She has three goals and two assists over the last four matches, and was an honorable mention for the NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week in women's soccer on Monday. Spreading the Wealth: Ten different players have scored the 20 Whitworth goals this season, showing the Pirates can rely on many different options for production in 2008. Emily Rohde (So., F, Lake Oswego, Ore.) leads the team with four goals this season, including the match-winner at George Fox on Sunday. Penelope Crowe (Sr., F, Bellingham, Wash.), Lindsey Oakes and Whitney Ramsey (Sr., F, Spokane, Wash.) have three goals apiece. Stepping into the Breach: Whitworth suffered some bad news before the season even started when returning starting goal keeper Krista Dietz (Jr., Enumclaw, Wash.) went down with a knee injury during preseason practice. But Callie Bergstrom (Fr., GK, Spokane, Wash.) has stepped in and played very well. She has allowed 13 goals in the Pirates' 12 matches this season for a 1.05 goals against average. She has been in on 54 saves. Tough League: The Northwest Conference is once again proving very tough in NCAA Division III soccer. Five NWC schools are currently ranked among the top nine in the NSCAA West Region Ratings. The Pirates are currently ranked third in the west, just behind Puget Sound. Whitman College is sixth, George Fox University is seventh and Willamette University is 9th. Click here for the NSCAA Division III West Region ratings. National Rankings: Whitworth is ranked 16th in this week's NSCAA/adidas Division III women's coaches poll, the same position as last week's rating. Click here for the today's national poll. The Coach: In his 12th season as the Pirate women's head coach, Bushey has a 108-86-15 during his 11 previous seasons leading Whitworth. But over the last five-plus years, including this season, the Whitworth women are 73-29-7 and in 2007 the team finished second in the NWC, earning the first ever NCAA Division III tournament bid as an at-large participant. The Pirates defeated UC Santa Cruz in the first round of the tournament. Bushey was named the 2007 NWC Women's Coach of the Year. Live Stats Offered: Live statistics of all Pirate home matches this season will be available on the Whitworth University Women's Soccer web page. The link for the matches is: The Opponents: Willamette heads into the week with a 7-5 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the NWC. The Bearcats were flying high after beating Linfield 2-1 on the road last Wednesday, then lost 5-0 at home to fourth-ranked Puget Sound on Saturday. Balance is key to Willamette's game as five different players have scored two goals this season. On September 21st the Bearcats game back from an early goal deficit to defeat Whitworth 2-1 in Salem. Linfield is 4-8 overall and 2-6 in the NWC. The Wildcats bounced back from their loss to Willamette last Wednesday by defeating Pacific Lutheran 3-2 at home on Sunday. Sarah Walton leads Linfield with three goals and one assist this season. On September 20th Whitworth scored in the final minute to force overtime, then won 2-1 in the extra period at Linfield. |
