SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's soccer team hosts two more Northwest Conference matches this week, looking to build mid-season momentum. The Pirates will play Lewis & Clark on Saturday and Willamette on Sunday. Both matches will start at 2:45 pm.
Check the Whitworth women's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth is 4-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the Northwest Conference following a split of matches last week.
Whitworth battled Whitman, weather and darkness last Wednesday before prevailing 1-0 in a match called after 74 minutes because conditions were too dark to continue. The contest was interrupted by lightning, dust and rain for 50 minutes as a storm front blew through in the first half. Claire Nguyen scored her first goal of the season in the 10th minute and that stood up as the Pirates limited the Blues to four total shots, only two of which were on-goal. Paige Broadrick made a pair of saves for Whitworth.
The Pirates struggled to maintain the offensive pressure on Sunday at Linfield, losing 1-0 after the Wildcats claimed a 12-4 advantage in shots. Linfield scored the contest's only goal in the 28th minute. Anna Boyer made four saves while starting in goal for the Pirates.
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: Lewis & Clark is 3-3-1 overall and 1-2 in the NWC heading into a Wednesday night match against Linfield. Last weekend the Pioneers fell at home to Pacific Lutheran (5-2) and Puget Sound (2-0). Jim Tursi is in his 14th season as head coach of the L&C women and he also coaches the men's team. Senior Celeste Shreifels leads the conference in scoring by a wide margin with nine goals and an assist. Sophomore Grace Smith has a goal and three assists. Last season Whitworth beat the Pioneers 2-0 at home, but the teams played to a 0-0 draw in Portland.
Willamette is 2-2-4 overall and 1-1-2 in the NWC following a 2-1 win over George Fox last weekend in the Bearcats' only contest. Lisa Ljubicic is in her third year as head coach at Willamette. Senior Nina Krassner-Cybulski has three goals this season, while sophomore Ella McComas has a pair. Whitworth swept the Bearcats in 2023, winning 2-1 on the road and 1-0 at home.
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 finish out the first half of the NWC schedule at Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran next weekend.
