SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's soccer team gets to focus on a single Northwest Conference match this weekend. The Pirates play at Whitman on Saturday at 2:30 pm to close out the first half of the conference schedule.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (5-4-2 overall, 3-2-1 NWC) split at home last weekend, falling 2-1 to Willamette but winning 3-0 against Linfield.
Beckett Arthur gave Whitworth an early lead against league-leading Willamette with his fifth goal of the season in the 17th minute. The Pirates had a chance to go up 2-0 but the shot was just high. The Bearcats tied the match before halftime and got the winner with ten minutes to play. Andrew Wolotira made three saves for the Bucs.
Whitworth scored three times in the first half and cruised to a 3-0 win over Linfield on Sunday. Tyler Wisen scored the first two goals for the Pirates, doubling his season goal total in the match. Arthur had the assist on the second goal. Jaime Rodriguez scored the Bucs' third goal, his third of the year. Led by Andyn Maldonaldo, the defensive line played so well, Linfield did not get off a single shot on-target.
The Opponents: Whitman comes into Saturday's match 5-6-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the NWC. The Blues dropped two heartbreakers at home last weekend, losing 1-0 to Linfield and 3-2 to Willamette. Three players have scored three goals apiece for Whitman, led by junior forward Edwin Romero who has three goals and one assist. Last season both matches between the Whits went to overtime. The Blues won 1-0 in Walla Walla, while the rematch in Spokane ended in a 2-2 draw. Whitworth is only 1-8-1 against Whitman since the 2018 season.
The Coach: Jeremy Payne, a talented and highly accomplished young coach, is in his third season as men's soccer coach at Whitworth University in 2022.
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 those three seasons.
Coming up: Whitworth will open the second round of the NWC schedule visiting Linfield and Willamette on October 15-16.
