SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University men's soccer team will make the turn in the 2024 Northwest Conference schedule with a pair of matches in Tacoma that conclude the first half of league play. The Pirates play at Puget Sound on Saturday and at Pacific Lutheran on Sunday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at noon.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (6-3-1 overall, 4-1-1 NWC) went 2-0 at home last weekend with its best offensive output of the season.
Cole Friesen scored the first two goals of the match and then assisted the next two goals to lead Whitworth to a 4-1 win over visiting Lewis & Clark on Saturday afternoon. Cameron Gardner and Clayton Crockett also scored for the Pirates. Whitworth outshot the Pioneers 20-6 and had a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. Aiden Chase made three saves without allowing a goal in the first 84 minutes. Dax Flanders played the final six minutes of the match.
On Sunday Whitworth fell behind visiting Willamette 1-0 in the seventh minute of the match. Then the Pirates took over, scoring the next four goals. Keegan Davis got the Bucs on the board with his first goal of the season in the 21st minute. Friesen made it 2-1 just over five minutes later and Crockett got his second of the weekend just before halftime for a 3-1 lead. Dominic Gusman scored the final goal of the match early in the second half and Friesen had one of the assists. Whitworth only had a 12-10 advantage in overall shots, but a 7-4 edge in shots on-goal. Chase made three more saves while allowing the one goal.
Friesen Honored: Cole Friesen was selected as the NWC's Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week in men's soccer after his performance against L&C and Willamette. He totaled three goals and three assists, a major reason Whitworth totaled eight goals over the weekend. Friesen leads the NWC in assists this season (5) and ranks third in goals (6) and total points (17).
Washington Log Jam: Approaching the halfway point of the NWC schedule, the four Washington schools stand atop the NWC men's soccer standings. Whitman leads with 16 points and a 5-0-1 record, followed by PLU (14, 4-0-2), Whitworth (13, 4-1-1) and Puget Sound (11, 3-1-2). The Tacoma schools host the east side schools this weekend, which could end up shaking up the standings.
The Opponents: Puget Sound is 4-3-2 overall and 3-1-2 under first year head coach Steve Mohn. Last weekend the Loggers won 1-0 at Pacific and lost 1-0 at George Fox. Puget Sound averages 1.44 goals per game and allows 1.0 per contest. First-year forward Jackson Smith leads his team with five goals and four assists. Senior GK Ryan Saunders has a 1.00 goals-against average and has stopped 77.1% of the shots on goal this season. In 2023 Whitworth and Puget Sound played to a pair of 1-1 draws.
Defending NWC champion Pacific Lutheran is 6-1-3 overall and 4-0-2 in the NWC heading into its match with Whitman on Saturday. The Lutes won 3-0 at George Fox and 4-0 at Pacific last weekend. Head coach John Yorke is in his 23rd season and has been named NWC Coach of the Year seven times. PLU leads the league in scoring average (2.70 goals per game) and give up 1.0 per contest. The offense is powered by dynamic duo of Trevor Thompson (Sr., F), who has 9 goals and 4 assists, and Craig Johnson (Sr., M), who has 5 goals and 4 assists. PLU swept Whitworth last season, winning 4-1 in Parkland and 4-2 in Spokane. The Lutes have won the last seven matches in the series.
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 open the second round of its Northwest Conference schedule at Pacific and George Fox on October 19th and 20th.
