SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University women's soccer team will hit the road to Oregon this week to take on Pacific University of Oregon (Saturday at Noon) and George Fox University (Sunday at Noon). The Pirates are coming off of a 1-1 week, coming from behind to defeat Whitman College 2-1 at home on Wednesday and falling 1-0 in an overtime heartbreaker at Lewis & Clark College on Saturday.
Finding their Way: Since a 5-0 start that saw Whitworth rise to second in the NSCAA/adidas Division III volleyball ratings, the Pirates have been struggling to find the consistency that lead to the early-season success. Whitworth is 1-3-1 in its last five matches, despite the kind of good play that leads to more scoring opportunities for the team. During the last five matches the Bucs have 71 shots to only 47 for opponents. Once Whitworth finds its groove for finishing opportunities, the Pirates will return to winning consistently. Oakes Gets on the Board: Lindsey Oakes (Jr., MF, Boise, Idaho), the Pirates leading scorer last season with 10 goals, found the net twice in last Wednesday's 2-1 win over Whitman. They were her first goals of 2008. She converted a penalty kick in the first half, then scored the match winner in the second period. Spreading the Wealth: Seven different players have scored the 14 Whitworth goals this season, showing the Pirates can rely on many different options for production in 2008. Penelope Crowe (Sr., F, Bellingham, Wash.), Emily Rohde (So., F, Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Whitney Ramsey (Sr., F, Spokane, Wash.) lead the team with 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 11 goals in the Pirates' ten matches this season for a 1.06 goals against average. She has been in on 43 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 second in the west, just behind Puget Sound. Whitman College is fifth, 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, down one spot from 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 71-29-7 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: Pacific University of Oregon comes into the week with a 4-5 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the NWC. The Boxers dropped a pair of road matches at Willamette (1-0) and at 4th-ranked Puget Sound (3-0) last weekend. Pacific has scored eight goals in nine matches this season, and Jenny Novak has two of those tallies. Half of the Boxers' season total came during a dramatic 4-3 double-overtime victory over Linfield on September 27th. George Fox University comes into the week with a record of 7-2 overall, 3-2 in the NWC. The Bruins picked up a 1-0 win at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and a 1-0 victory at home over Linfield on Sunday. In fact, George Fox has not allowed a goal in the last 331:31 of play. Jenny McKinsey leads the team with four goals this season. |
