SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University men's soccer team opens the second half of its Northwest Conference schedule on the road in Oregon this weekend. The Pirates will play at Pacific University on Saturday and at George Fox on Sunday. Both will start at noon as the opening half of a men's-women's doubleheader.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (6-4-2 overall, 4-2-2 NWC) finished with a tie and a one-goal loss in Tacoma last weekend. The Pirates are currently in fourth place in the conference standings with 14 points. Whitworth is three points out of second place and six points from first.
The Pirates played to a 1-1 draw at Puget Sound last Saturday. Cole Friesen scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season to give Whitworth a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. The Loggers scored the tying goal early in the second half. The Pirates outshot UPS 13-6, including a 7-2 advantage in shots on-goal. The physical contest featured six yellow cards. It was the third straight time Whitworth and Puget Sound played to a 1-1 tie.
The Pirates went toe-to-toe with defending NWC champion Pacific Lutheran before falling 2-1 on Sunday. After the Lutes took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute, Keegan Davis tied the match for the Bucs in the 34th minute with his second goal of the year. PLU got the eventual match-winner right before halftime. Even though the second half was scoreless, it featured the greater number of shots and Whitworth led 8-6, including a 4-0 edge in shots on-goal.
NWC Standings Update: PLU now leads the NWC standings at the halfway point with 20 points and a 6-0-2 record. Teams get three points for a win and one for a tie. Whitman is in second place with 17 points (5-1-2) and George Fox is third with 16 points (5-2-1). Whitworth is in fourth with 14 points (4-2-2) and Puget Sound (3-1-4) and Pacific (4-4-1) are tied for fifth with 13 points. There is a big drop off to sixth place.
The Opponents: Pacific comes into the week 6-6-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the NWC. The Boxers are coming off a strong weekend that included a 3-1 win over Willamette and a 3-0 win at Lewis & Clark. Pacific has scored 18 goals and allowed 18 goals this season. Senior forward Adam Landy leads his team with four goals, while sophomore Donovan Jaramillo has three goals and an assist. Whitworth and Pacific played to a 0-0 draw on Sept. 22nd as Aiden Chase made two saves for the Pirates.
George Fox is 9-2-1 overall and 5-2-1 in the NWC this season. The Bruins have made the biggest move up the standings so far this season, already nearly doubling their overall win total from last season. Last week GFU beat Linfield 3-1 and Lewis & Clark 2-1. The Bruins have averaged 2.25 goals per match and only allowed 0.83 goals per contest. First-year midfielder Harrison Emmert has three goals and four assists, while senior Connor Kong has four goals and two assists. Whitworth edged George Fox 1-0 in the NWC opener for both teams on September 21st. Beckett Arthur, playing his first match of the season, scored the only goal.
The Coach: Kevin Moon became the Pirates' head coach in 2023 and went 12-4-4 in his first year. Perhaps no one more connected to the history of Whitworth men's soccer was ready for this 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 four 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 next Wednesday (Oct. 23) before hosting Linfield on Saturday (Oct. 26) in a pair of NWC contests.
