SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth Pirates will be back at home for the first time in three weeks, looking to make an impact on the Northwest Conference men's soccer standings. Whitworth will take on Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and Puget Sound on Sunday, both matches starting at 2:30 pm. The Pirates fell on the road to both teams earlier this season.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action. While masks are not required at the Whitworth Soccer Field, they are highly recommended.
The Pirates: Whitworth (6-6-1 overall, 5-4 NWC) split a pair of conference road games last weekend in Oregon. The Pirates are now 5-0-1 at home this season and 1-6 on the road. With 15 points, Whitworth is tied for fourth place in the NWC standings.
Whitworth broke a 1-1 halftime tie with two second half goals in a 3-1 win at George Fox on Saturday. It was the Pirates' first road victory of the season. Jaime Rodriguez got the Bucs on the board first in the 12th minute on an assist from Beckett Arthur. Arthur gave Whitworth a 2-1 lead in the 72nd minute when he scored off a free kick for his league-leading 10th goal. Victor Loyola scored his first of the year as an insurance goal in the 77th minute. Eric Shaporda had the assist. The Pirates swept the season series against the Boxers.
Whitworth had more shots, but Pacific got all the goals on Sunday, defeating the Pirates 3-0. Whitworth finished with a 14-6 edge in shots, but could get none past the Boxers' goalkeeper. Rodriguez led the Pirates with three shots, two on-target. Whitworth and Pacific split the season series.
Dynamic Duo: Beckett Arthur and Dominic Gusman have become the most dynamic scoring pair in the Northwest Conference this season. Arthur leads the league in goals (10) and in total points (21). Gusman is tied for second in goals (7), third in points (18, including four assists) and leads in game-winning goals (4). Each has been named the Northwest Conference's Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week once this season – Gusman on September 20th and Arthur on October 4th.
The Opponents: First place Pacific Lutheran comes into Saturday's match 10-4 overall and 7-2 in the NWC. The Lutes lost 3-2 at home to Willamette on Saturday before defeating Linfield 5-0 on Sunday. Sophomore midfielder Craig Johnson has seven goals and six assists and is second in the league in points (20). Sophomore goalkeeper Nicholas Gaston has a 0.93 goals-against average. PLU hammered Whitworth 5-0 in Parkland in the teams' first game this year on September 26th.
Puget Sound is 5-4-3 overall and 4-2-3 in the NWC heading into Saturday's match against Whitman. The Loggers defeated Linfield 2-0 on Saturday and tied Willamette 2-2 on Sunday. Junior midfielder Marko Babiak leads his squad with six goals and an assist this season. Whitworth and Puget Sound were scoreless into double overtime in Tacoma on September 25th before the Loggers got the golden goal for a 1-0 victory.
The Coach: Jeremy Payne, a talented and highly accomplished young coach, enters his second season as men's soccer coach at Whitworth University in 2021.
Payne is a graduate of Messiah College (Pa.), where he was the NSCAA Division III Player of the Year in 2012 and 2014. Following graduation from Messiah, Payne became a graduate assistant coach at Eastern University (St. David's, Pa.) in August of 2015 and served in that role for two seasons before he was promoted to head coach in March of 2017. He led the Eagles to a 42-17-5 record and two Division III tournament appearances over the last three seasons.
Coming up next: Whitworth will hit the road for matches at Linfield and Willamette on October 30th and 31st.
