By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University men's soccer team continues Northwest Conference play this week back at Whitworth Soccer Field in Spokane. The Pirates will host Whitman on Wednesday at 3:00pm, before Linfield comes to town on Saturday. Saturday's match 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 (6-6-2 overall, 4-4-2 NWC) finished with two losses in Oregon last weekend. The Pirates are tied with Puget Sound for fifth place currently in the conference standings with 14 points. Whitworth is now eight points out of second place and ten points from first.
The Pirates fell to Pacific (Ore.) in a 2-0 loss on Saturday. The Boxers got on the board in the 32nd minute before adding an unassisted goal midway through the second half. Whitworth outshot Pacific 10-5, including a 5-4 edge in shots on-goal. Clayton Crockett led the Pirates with three shots on-goal and Aiden Chase contributed a pair of saves.
Whitworth suffered a 5-0 loss against George Fox on Sunday. The Pirates played a strong defensive first half before the Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute. Whitworth ramped up the pressure in the second half, taking nine shots and two corner kicks. The Bruins would go on to net four goals in the second half. The Bucs were outshot 18-10, and 9-6 in shots on-goal.
NWC Standings Update: PLU maintained their lead in the NWC standings over the weekend, now with 24 points and a 7-0-3 record. George Fox jumped into second place with 22 points (7-2-1) and Pacific now holds third with 19 points (6-4-1). Whitman is in fourth with 17 points (5-3-2), while Puget Sound (3-2-5) and Whitworth (4-4-2) are tied for fifth. Willamette holds sixth place and closes the gap with 13 points (3-4-4). There is a big drop off to seventh place. Teams get three points for a win and one for a tie.
The Opponents: Whitman heads to Spokane with an 8-4-2 overall record and a 5-3-2 NWC record. The Blues are coming off a 5-1 loss at George Fox and a 1-0 loss at Pacific last weekend. Senior forwards Jacob Burrill and Sawyer Valero lead the Blues' offense with 16 combined goals and seven assists. Whitman's last victory was October 6th against Lewis & Clark. The Blues defeated the Pirates 2-1 in their first match this season on September 25th.
Linfield is 2-11-2 overall and 1-8-2 in the NWC this season. Last weekend, the Wildcats were defeated by PLU 3-1 and played to a 1-1 draw against Puget Sound. Linfield has been outscored by opponents 40-15 this season and allowed 2.86 goals per match. Sophomore E.J. Sablan leads the Wildcats with six goals and is tied for the team lead with four assists. Whitworth won the first meeting between these teams 2-0 on September 29th, as Beckett Arthur and Clayton Crockett each scored a 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 travel to Willamette next Saturday (Nov. 2) before heading to Lewis & Clark on Sunday (Nov. 3) on the last road trip of the season.
