SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University women's soccer team rose to second in this week's NSCAA/adidas® Women's Division III National Poll, the highest the Pirates have been ranked nationally in women's soccer since 1996. Whitworth takes its lofty ranking on the road to open Northwest Conference play this week at Linfield College (Saturday) and Willamette University (Sunday).
Spreading the Wealth: Five different players have scored the seven Whitworth goals this season, showing the Pirates can rely on many different options for production in 2008. Emily Rohde (So., F, Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Penelope Crowe (Sr., F, Bellingham, Wash.) lead the team with a pair of 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 only two goals in the Pirates' four matches this season for a 0.50 goals against average. She has been in on 16 saves. Tough League: The Northwest Conference is once again proving very tough in NCAA Division III soccer. Four NWC schools are currently ranked among the top nine in the NSCAA West Region Ratings. The Pirates are currently ranked first in the west, followed by Puget Sound in the second spot. George Fox is fifth and Whitman is ninth. National Rankings: Whitworth's current national ranking of #2 ties as the highest the Pirates have ever been rated in women's soccer. Whitworth was ranked second in the NAIA for one week following a season-opening upset at top-ranked Simon Fraser in 1996. The College of New Jersey is now ranked #1 in the NSCAA DIII Women's poll, moving up from third last week. Whitworth moved from fifth to second. Defending national champion Wheaton (Ill.) fell from first to 11th. Click here for the today's national poll. The Pirates are being rewarded for playing a challenging schedule. Whitworth's first three opponents this season are all still ranked in the NCAA west region poll. Chapman is 8th, UC Santa Cruz is 3rd (and 18th nationally), while Cal State East Bay is 6th. Whitworth also has a win over Wis.-Whitewater, a challenging intersectional opponent. Click here for the latest NSCAA regional rating. Select Company: As of September 15th, Whitworth University is one of only eight remaining NCAA Division III colleges with undefeated teams in both men's and women's soccer. The Pirate men (4-0-1) and women (4-0) join Hamilton (N.Y.), Messiah (Pa.), Salem State (Mass.), St. Thomas (Minn.), Williams (Mass.), William Paterson (N.J.) and Wittenberg (Ohio) on the list. 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 69-26-6 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: Linfield College comes into this weekend with a record of 2-2. The Wildcats have not played since September 9th, but that match proved an impressive result for Linfield. The 'Cats upset NCAA DII Western Oregon 1-0 in overtime. Emma Triplett has both of Linfield's game-winning goals this season. Last year Whitworth defeated the Wildcats 5-1 in Spokane, but had to work hard for a 2-1 win in McMinnville. Willamette University, long one of the great powers in NCAA DIII soccer and in the NWC, is 2-2 so far this season. The Bearcats are trying to rebound from last season's fifth-place finish, the lowest finish for the team in conference standings since 1985. Willamette is coming off of a 1-0 upset of #18 UC Santa Cruz on Monday night. Last season the Pirates defeated the Bearcats 2-1 on the road and 1-0 at home. |
