SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth University women's soccer team suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday at Willamette, one day after scoring in the final minute of regulation to force overtime at Linfield then defeat the Wildcats in extra play. The Pirates (5-1 overall, 1-1 NWC) dropped seven spots in the national poll to 9th this week. Whitworth gets little time to ponder Sunday's loss before the Pirates host six-time defending Northwest Conference champion and 5th-ranked University of Puget Sound on Saturday. On Sunday Whitworth will take on Pacific Lutheran University.
Saturday is For the Kids: As part of Saturday's doubleheader against the University of Puget Sound, Whitworth will help celebrate National Youth Soccer Month at the Whitworth Soccer Field. All kids in a soccer uniform attending either the men's or women's games on Saturday will be able to pick up a free item (limited to availability - first come, first choice) and enjoy a day of outstanding collegiate soccer. Whitworth is happy to partner with US Youth Soccer to help celebrate soccer as the number one youth participation sport in America. After Further Review: The first goal scored in Saturday's Whitworth-Linfield match was changed to Whitney Ramsey (Sr., F, Spokane, Wash.), who was the last Whitworth player to touch the ball before it deflected off of a Wildcat defender and into the goal. She ended up with both goals in the 2-1 overtime win at Linfield. Spreading the Wealth: Five different players have scored the ten 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 Whitney Ramsey lead the team with three 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 five goals in the Pirates' six matches this season for a 0.83 goals against average. She has been in on 24 saves. Tough League: The Northwest Conference is once again proving very tough in NCAA Division III soccer. Six NWC schools are currently ranked among the top ten 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 Pacific University is 10th. Click here for the NSCAA Division III West Region ratings. National Rankings: Whitworth dropped from second to ninth in this week's NSCAA/adidas Division III women's soccer poll after Sunday's 2-1 loss at Willamette. Messiah (Pa.) moved from third to first after both top-ranked New Jersey and Whitworth were defeated over the weekend. 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 70-27-6 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: The University of Puget Sound is ranked 5th in this week's poll and the Loggers are 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the NWC. Last week UPS defeated Pacific Lutheran 2-1 at home and George Fox 1-0 on the road to open conference play. Reigning NWC Offensive Player of the Year Janece Levien has five goals and one assist this season. In 2007 Whitworth finished 18-3 and all three losses were by one goal to UPS. The Bucs lost 1-0 in Tacoma, 3-2 in Spokane and 2-1 back in Tacoma in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament. Pacific Lutheran University comes into the week with a record of 1-3-1 overall, 0-2 in the NWC. The Lutes, who must begin the conference schedule with four straight road games, fell to Pacific 2-0 on Saturday in addition to the previous loss at UPS. PLU has struggled with getting the ball in the net this season with only three goals in their five matches. Laura Bressler has scored two of the three Lute goals. Last season Whitworth defeated PLU 1-0 in Tacoma in overtime and 2-0 in Spokane. |
