SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's soccer team will open the 2024 Northwest Conference schedule at home this week against George Fox University and Pacific University. Both matches will start at noon.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth is off to a 2-2 start to the season. The Pirates won a pair of games in Montana on August 30-31, defeating Providence University 3-1 and Carroll College 2-1. Unfortunately, the injury bug caught up to the Bucs before their trip to Texas on Sept. 6-8. With several starters and a couple key backups out of commission, Whitworth lost 4-0 at Trinity and 2-0 to Southwestern (also at Trinity).
Doubleheader Flip-Flop: For the first time in Northwest Conference history, the men's and women's games have flip-flopped and the men will play first in the Noon time slot. The women will now play the second game at 2:45 pm.
Friesen Back at It: Cole Friesen already has three goals this season, and two game-winning tallies. He is coming off a 2023 season in which he led the Northwest Conference in goals (24 – a new Whitworth record), game-winning goals (5) and total points (53). He ranked second in all of NCAA Division III in goals scored and was named Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
The Opponents: George Fox is 4-0 in 2024, a tremendous start under 4th year head coach Paul Karver. The Bruins defeated Corban University 2-0 in their last game on Sept. 14 and they have outscored opponents 15-2 so far this season. Senior midfielder Connor Kong has three goals and an assist, while junior GK Justin Huttinger has a 0.59 goals-against average and has stopped 83.3% of the shots he has faced. Last year Whitworth defeated George Fox 7-0 at home but had to settle for a 0-0 draw in Newberg, Oregon.
Pacific (Ore.) is 4-2 overall and the Boxers have already picked up a pair of Northwest Conference wins this season. Pacific won 4-1 at Linfield last Sunday and defeated the Wildcats again 1-0 at home on Wednesday. The Boxers will play at Whitman on Saturday before arriving in Spokane for Sunday's contest. Seniors Brodie Buchert and Adam Landy and sophomore Donovan Jaramillo all have scored two goals apiece in 2024. Head coach Brandon Porter, a Pacific alum, is in his fourth season as head coach. Last year Whitworth defeated Pacific 3-1 at home and 1-0 on the road.
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 three 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 play at Whitman (Wednesday, Sept. 25) and at Linfield (Sunday, Sept. 29) next week.
