By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University men's soccer team returns to Whitworth Soccer Field for its final two matches of the season this weekend. The Pirates host Pacific Lutheran on Saturday before playing Puget Sound on Sunday. Both matches are set for 11:00am.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (10-6-2 overall, 8-4-2 NWC) extended its winning streak to four games with two wins in Oregon last week. The Pirates are now alone in second place in the Northwest Conference standings with 26 points and hope to maintain their standing with two wins this weekend.
The Pirates took down Willamette 7-2 on Saturday. The Bucs got off to a commanding lead by scoring five first half goals. Cole Friesen and Jordan Voigt each had two goals, while Beckett Arthur, Dawson Heuett and Cameron Garnder would also score. Whitworth showed incredible efficiency around the net, scoring seven of their ten total shots on-goal. Aiden Chase made a season-high seven saves for the Pirates.
Whitworth defeated Lewis & Clark 3-0 on Sunday. The Pirates controlled possession and outshot the Pioneers 22-4. Cole Friesen scored his twelfth goal of the season in the first minute of the match after running down a cross from Beckett Arthur. Friesen scored again in the 76th minute off a well-placed corner kick from Dominic Gusman. Clayton Crockett added another goal for Whitworth in the 84th minute.
Record Breaking Weekend: Cole Friesen broke two significant Whitworth men's soccer program records this weekend. Friesen broke the record for most career goals in Pirate history (38), surpassing the previous record of 37 goals from Niko Varlamos (2006). After further review of the records, he broke this record with his first goal on Saturday against Willamette.
Friesen's five points on Sunday also pushed him to a program record of 93 career points, breaking the previous mark of 91 held by John Gould (1989). The junior forward now owns program records in career goals, career points, and single-season goals (24).
Friesen was also selected as the Northwest Conference men's soccer Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week after scoring four goals and adding three assists over the weekend. This is his third NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week honor this season.
NWC Standings Update: PLU clinched first place in the NWC over the weekend, now with a 10-0-4 conference record and 34 points. Whitworth (8-4-2) jumped to second place with 26 points while George Fox (8-5-1) is close behind at 25 points. Whitman (7-5-2) is in fourth place with 23 points and Puget Sound (5-2-7) sits in fifth with 22 points. Pacific (6-6-2) moves to sixth place with 20 points and Willamette (5-5-4) is in seventh with 19 points.
The Opponents: Pacific Lutheran is 12-1-5 overall and 10-0-4 in the NWC heading into Saturday's match. The Lutes took down Pacific 3-1 and George Fox 4-0 in Tacoma last weekend. Senior Forward Trevor Thompson leads their attack with 20 goals and 11 assists on the season. PLU has outscored its opponents 56-15. Whitworth was defeated by PLU 2-1 on October 13th.
Puget Sound comes to Spokane with a 6-4-7 overall record and a 6-6-2 mark in the NWC. The Loggers took down George Fox 1-0 and played to a draw against Pacific 3-3 over the weekend. Sophomore Rhys Foote leads the team with eight goals and senior midfielder Pema Globus has a team leading 6 assists. The first meeting between Whitworth and Puget Sounded finished in a 1-1 draw on October 12th.
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's season will conclude after the matches this weekend. Watch whitworthpirates.com for all Northwest Conference announcements.
