SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's soccer team plays its first matches of the 2021 season when the Pirates take on Carroll (Mont.) and Edgewood (Wis.) in a pair of non-conference this weekend. Puget Sound will also be on campus to play the same pair.
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The Pirates: With depth and experience at nearly every position, the Whitworth women's soccer team has high hopes for a strong season in 2021.
Goalkeeper is the only position on the field with a completely new starter. Kate Nelson has transferred to Whitworth from Highline Community College and she is the only netminder on the roster.
Emma Foulk, Hailey Ovenell and Amanda Gerard anchor a defense that allowed only eight goals in nine matches last spring.
Savannah Acpal, Kendall Sharp and Bethany VanSant form the core of a midfield crew that is nearly as deep as the defense.
The Pirates will need better offensive execution in 2021. Whitworth scored only nine goals in the nine contests last spring. Maggie Ames, Gabriella Coprivnicar, Ireland Eaton, and Laura Pierson all gained valuable experience last season. Riley Martinson, who was an NAIA and an Academic All-American during her career at Embry-Riddle University in Arizona, will add a dangerous weapon to the mix as a graduate transfer.
The Opponents: Whitworth opens against Carroll College, a member of the NAIA Frontier Conference from Helena, Montana. The Saints went 4-6-1 in 2020, following up a 9-7-2 campaign in 2019. Whitworth and Carroll have played five times since 2013 and the Pirates have won three of those games. Whitworth won the last meeting, 2-1, in Walla Walla in 2018.
Edgewood College is located in Madison, Wisconsin and is a member of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The Eagles went 5-4 in 2020, a dramatic improvement over 7-12-1 in 2019. Edgewood is picked tenth in the 14-team NACC preseason coaches poll. The Pirates and Eagles haven't played in women's soccer since September of 2003 when Whitworth won 6-0.
The Coach: Bryan Olson, previously the top assistant coach for the highly successful Whitworth men's soccer program, was named as the head coach for the Pirate women's soccer team in February of 2016 and enters his sixth year leading the Bucs in 221. He is 44-38-8 in five seasons as a head coach, including a 12-5-3 overall record in 2018 and a 10-4-2 mark in the Northwest Conference (third place).
Olson was the top assistant coach for the Whitworth men's soccer team for six seasons. His title was elevated to Associate Head Coach ahead of the 2015 season. Over that time the Pirate men's team posted a record of 66-17-12 and made the NCAA Division III Tournament three times (2012, 2014 and 2015).
