SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's soccer team will host a pair of Northwest Conference matches, looking to build on the progress made over the last two weeks. The Pirates take on George Fox on Saturday and Pacific (Ore.) on Sunday. Both will start at noon.
Links to live video and live statistics are available on the Whitworth women's soccer schedule.
The Pirates: Whitworth (3-6-4 overall, 3-4-3 NWC) is 2-0-2 over its last four matches, including a pair of draws on the road last weekend
The Pirates played to a 0-0 tie at Willamette on Saturday. Whitworth's defense limited the Bearcats to only a single shot on-target and Kate Nelson only had to make that one save to post her fourth shutout of the season. The Pirates had four shots on-goal, but none could find the back of the net.
Whitworth finished in a 1-1 draw at Lewis & Clark on Sunday. Camryn Gardner scored off a free kick from Kalena Pfaeltzer in the 63rd minute to give the Pirates a lead. Whitworth had three good chances to double the advantage, but could not find the insurance goal. L&C scored in the 88th minute to force a tie. Nelson had seven saves for the Bucs.
Whitworth Leaders: Ten different players have scored at least one goal this season for the Pirates, led by Savannah Acpal who has three. Nine different players have at least one assist, led by Kalena Pfaeltzer and Taliya Miyama, who each have three. Center back Emma Foulk leads Whitworth's position players in total minutes with 952.
The Buck (Ball) Stops Here: Senior GK Kate Nelson played all 1860 minutes as the only goalkeeper on the roster in 2021, leading all of NCAA Division III in goalie minutes played. She led the NWC in saves per game (4.90), was second in save percentage (.838) and third in goals-against average (0.919). She was second in the NWC and fifth in NCAA Division III in shutouts (10). Nelson was named second team All-Northwest Conference.
Nelson continues her impressive play this fall. The Oct. 10 NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week, Nelson has a 0.88 goals-against average this season and has stopped 84% of the shots she has faced. Nelson has posted four shutouts.
The Opponents: George Fox is 7-1-4 overall and 5-1-4 in the NWC heading into Saturday's match. The Bruins tied Pacific 0-0 last Wednesday and fell 2-0 to Puget Sound on Sunday, both at home. Senior forward Maggie Phillips has 15 goals and two assists this season. Whitworth played to a 1-1 tie at George Fox on September 24th. Savannah Acpal had the tying goal for the Pirates.
Pacific (Ore.) is 5-5-3 overall and 2-5-3 in the NWC heading into Saturday's match at Whitman. The Boxers followed up last Wednesday's 0-0 draw at George Fox with a 3-0 loss at home to Pacific Lutheran on Sunday. Freshman Mirella Garcia leads Pacific with six goals and an assist in 2022. The Boxers defeated the Pirates 1-0 in Oregon on September 25th.
The Coach: Whitworth soccer alum Cameron Bushey is in his first season as head coach of the women's soccer team. He came from Stanislaus State, where he was the top assistant coach. Bushey has club coaching stints in Spokane and Colorado and he was an assistant at Gonzaga University for two seasons (2018-19). He graduated from Whitworth in 2012 as a four-time All-NWC honoree who helped lead the Pirates to three NWC titles and NCAA Division III tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.
Coming up: Whitworth will play at Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 29-30.
