SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's soccer team will open the 2023 Northwest Conference schedule against a pair of long-time rivals. The Pirates travel to the Tacoma area to take on Pacific Lutheran in Parkland on Saturday and at Puget Sound in Tacoma on Sunday. Both games are scheduled for 2:30 pm kickoffs.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (2-2) dropped two games in Santa Cruz, California last weekend. The Pirates struggled to respond to an early goal in Friday's 3-0 neutral site loss to California Lutheran. Whitworth fell behind again on Sunday, but Cole Friesen scored his fifth goal of the season on a penalty kick in the second half of a 2-1 loss to UC Santa Cruz.
Friesen is off to a blistering start in 2023. He leads the Northwest Conference in goals (5), points (10) and points per match (2.5). Friesen, who was injured early last season in his first year at Whitworth, has eight goals in eight career matches as a Pirate.
The Opponents: Pacific Lutheran is 1-1-2 this season, coming off a challenging weekend in Salem, Oregon. The Lutes fell to Division III power Emory 2-1 on Friday before tying Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 2-2 on Sunday. PLU won or shared five NWC titles from 2015 through 2021 under head coach John Yorke, who is now in his 22nd season. Junior forward Trevor Thompson, who scored 12 goals last season, has two already for the Lutes this year. PLU defeated Whitworth twice last season, by identical 3-1 scores. The Lutes have won five straight in the series.
Puget Sound is 2-0 in 2023 with victories over Multnomah (3-0) and Evergreen State (2-0). Former Logger player Sam Zisette is leading the team as the interim head coach this season. Junior midfielder Pena Globus has two goals for UPS this season. Whitworth swept the Loggers last year, winning 3-0 in Spokane and 2-1 in Tacoma.
The Coach: Kevin Moon is the Pirates' interim head coach in 2023 and perhaps no one more connected to the history of Whitworth men's soccer could have taken on that role. Moon was a Pirate player from 1988 through 1991, winning three NCIC titles under Whitworth Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame coach Einar Thorarinnson. Moon served three stints as an assistant coach at Whitworth under several head coaches. He was an assistant coach for the women's team from 1992 through 1996, when the Pirates won a pair of NCIC titles under Damon Hagerott. He was an assistant coach for the men under Sean Bushey in 2001 when the Pirates won a conference crown. Moon returned as an assistant coach with the women's program from 2010 through 2015 under both Hagerotts – Damon and Jael. He was back with the Pirate men under Morgan Cathey in 2018 and 2019.
He also has significant coaching experience in the Inland Northwest. Kevin has a USSF National A License and was an ODP Washington Staff Coach from 2008-10. He was also a 2014 ODP Idaho Staff Coach.
Coming up: Whitworth will host Whitman (Wednesday, Sept. 20) and Pacific (Saturday, Sept. 23) next week.
