SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth Pirates hope to make a move back up the Northwest Conference women's soccer standings when the Bucs open the second half of their league schedule at Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday and George Fox on Sunday. Both matches will start at 2:45 pm as the second half of a men's-women's conference doubleheader.
Check the Whitworth women's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth is 5-4-2 overall and 3-3-2 in the Northwest Conference after getting a tie and a one-goal loss on the road in Tacoma last weekend. The Pirates are now tied with Whitman and Linfield for fourth place in the league standings.
Whitworth pulled out a 1-1 tie at Puget Sound last Saturday. The Pirates were chasing the Loggers, who finished with an 18-5 advantage in shots, for much of the match but neither team scored until UPS got on the board in the 84th minute. Undeterred, Whitworth continued to press forward and got its break when Katherine Kent's free kick into the box was headed into the net by a Logger defender for an own goal. Anna Boyer made eight saves for Whitworth.
Despite another significant disadvantage in shots on Sunday at PLU, the Pirates held tough against the seven-time conference champion Lutes before falling 2-1. Whitworth led 1-0 in the 52nd minute when Kylee Russell scored her fifth goal of the season from an assist by Emma Ellerd and Yacine Bitibale. PLU tied the match in the 66th minute and got the winning goal in the 87th minute. Boyer made ten saves on Sunday for the Bucs.
Doubleheader Flip-Flop: For the first time in Northwest Conference history, the men's and women's doubleheaders have flip-flopped start times and the men will play first in the Noon time slot. The women will now play the second game at 2:45 pm.
The Opponents: Pacific comes into the week 1-9-3 overall and 1-7-1 in the NWC. The Boxers lost 1-0 at home to Willamette and fell 2-1 at Lewis & Clark last week. Pacific is looking to improve an offensive attack that has scored seven goals in 13 matches in 2024. Sophomore Mirella Garcia has three goals to lead the team. Whitworth defeated the Boxers 1-0 in Spokane on Sept. 22nd on a goal by Yacine Bitibale.
George Fox heads into its match on Saturday against Whitman with a 5-5-2 overall record and a 2-4-2 mark in the NWC. The Bruins tied 0-0 at Linfield last Wednesday before defeating Lewis & Clark 3-1 at home on Saturday. GFU has scored 14 goals and allowed 18 in 2024. Senior Becca Kozak has four goals and two assists, while sophomore Liv Haima also has four goals. Whitworth and George Fox played to a 0-0 draw in the NWC opener for both teams on September 21st.
The Coach: Whitworth soccer alum Cameron Bushey is in his third season as head coach of the women's soccer team. The Pirates followed up a 6-8-5 record during his first year in 2022 with a 9-6-5 mark (9-5-2 NWC) last season.
Bushey 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 Whitman next Wednesday before hosting Linfield on Sunday.
