SPOKANE, Wash. – Following a split of matches in Minnesota last week, the Whitworth women's soccer team hits the road to open Northwest Conference play at Pacific Lutheran (Saturday) and Puget Sound (Sunday) this weekend. Both matches are scheduled to start at noon.
See the Whitworth soccer schedule for live links to this weekend's matches. Fans interested in attending the games should visit the host schools' athletics websites for their current spectator policies.
The Pirates: Whitworth controlled the possession and the match, but still lost 1-0 at Hamline last Thursdays when the Pipers scored off a set piece in the 43rd minute. Kalena Pfaeltzer and Ireland Eaton led the way with four shots apiece, and each had two on-goal. Whitworth outshot Hamline 24-5, including a 10-2 edge in shots on-target.
The Pirates rebounded to win 2-0 at Bethel on Saturday when Macey Morales and Bethany VanSant scored second half goals two minutes apart. Kate Nelson made seven saves in net for the Bucs. Whitworth had a 13-12 lead in shots, but the Royals had seven on-goal to six for the Pirates. Corner kicks were 10-3 in the Pirates' favor.
The Opponents: Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound were picked to finish first and second, respectively, in the 2021 NWC women's preseason coaches poll.
PLU is 4-0 this season, following a pair of wins last weekend. The Lutes knocked off 8th-ranked Wheaton 1-0 on Friday then defeated NAIA-member Evergreen State 6-0 on Saturday. Vera Penescu-Reich has scored twice this season and both have been match-winners. Whitworth and PLU played four times last spring during the Covid-19 schedule. The teams tied 0-0 in Spokane in the first match. PLU won 2-0 in the second Spokane contest then swept the Pirates by identical 1-0 scores in Parkland three weeks later.
Puget Sound is also 4-0 this season. They Loggers defeated Northwest University 1-0 on Friday before upsetting 8th-ranked Wheaton 1-0 on Saturday. Goalkeeper Chaylea Tome has not allowed a goal yet this season. Radhika Webster-Schultz leads the team with three goals. Whitworth won two of the three meetings between the teams last spring. The Pirates pulled out a 2-1 overtime victory and a 4-3 win at home. UPS won 1-0 in the only match in Tacoma.
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).
