By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University men's soccer team hits the road this weekend for its last road trip of the season. The Pirates will visit Willamette on Saturday before heading to Portland on Sunday to square off against Lewis & Clark. Both matches are set to begin at 11:00am.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (8-6-2 overall, 6-4-2 NWC) snapped its losing streak with two wins in Spokane last week. The Pirates are now tied with Whitman for third place in the conference standings with 20 points. Whitworth moved to five points out of second place and eight points from first.
The Pirates took down Whitman 3-1 in this season's second Battle of Whits on Wednesday. The Bucs got on the board in the 14th minute when Jordan Voigt headed in a free kick from Dominic Gusman. Cole Friesen would add two goals in the second half, his eighth and ninth of the season. Aiden Chase made six saves for the Pirates.
Whitworth swept the season series with Linfield with a 2-0 win on Saturday. In a similar fashion to the first meeting between these teams, the Pirates scored two first half goals which would hold up for the rest of the match. Jordan Voigt scored on a set piece in the 18th minute and Beckett Arthur put Whitworth up by two in the 28th minute. The Pirates had a slight edge in total shots (12-10) but showed a more dangerous attack with an 8-3 advantage in shots on-goal.
NWC Standings Update: PLU remains atop the NWC standings, now with 28 points and an 8-0-4 conference record. George Fox holds second place with 25 points and an 8-3-1 record. Whitworth (6-4-2) jumped into a tie for third with Whitman (6-4-2), each with 20 points. Pacific (6-5-1) is in fifth place with 19 points and Puget Sound (4-2-6) drops to sixth. Willamette (4-4-4) moves to seventh with 16 points before a drop off to eighth place. Teams get three points for a win and one for a tie.
The Opponents: Willamette is 4-7-5 overall and 4-4-4 in the NWC heading into Saturday's match. The Bearcats are coming off a 4-2 win at George Fox last weekend. Forwards Krisna LaFrance and Sean Kim lead Willamette's offensive attack, with LaFrance leading the team with six goals and Kim with a team leading four assists. Whitworth took down the Bearcats 4-1 in their first meeting on October 6th.
Lewis & Clark is 0-15 overall and 0-11 in NWC play after two losses last weekend. The Pioneers fell to Puget Sound 5-0 on Saturday and Pacific Lutheran 8-0 on Sunday. Lewis & Clark is looking to win its first match of the season and get on the scoreboard for the first time in three matches. Junior midfielder Ishan Abraham leads the Pioneers with two goals this season and Micaiah Garan has contributed 47 saves. Whitworth defeated Lewis & Clark 4-1 in Spokane on October 5th.
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 Pacific Lutheran on November 9th and Puget Sound on November 10th in the final matches of the season.
