SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's soccer team will get a third straight home contest when the Pirates host Whitman College on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 pm. Whitworth will end the week with a road match at Linfield University on Sunday at 2:45 pm.
Check the Whitworth women's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: Whitworth is 3-1-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the Northwest Conference following a pair of home games against George Fox and Pacific last weekend.
Whitworth played to a 0-0 draw against visiting George Fox in the NWC opener on Saturday afternoon. The Pirates could not find the back of the net despite outshooting the Bruins 21-6 overall and 9-2 in shots on-goal. Paige Broadrick made both saves on the two GFU on-target shots in the first half. Yacine Bitibale took six shots for Whitworth, two of which were on-frame.
The Pirates played 64 more minutes of scoreless soccer on Sunday afternoon against Pacific before Bibitale broke through with the contest's only goal in the 65th minute of play. It was her second goal of the season. Broadrick made three more saves, all in the second half, to post her second straight shutout. Whitworth survived a final five minutes that saw Pacific get off five shots, one of which hit the cross bar.
Doubleheader Flip-Flop: For the first time in Northwest Conference history, the men's and women's doubleheaders have flip-flopped start times and the men will play first in the Noon time slot. The women will now play the second game at 2:45 pm.
The Opponents: Whitman is 4-1-1 overall and 1-0-1 after the first weekend of NWC matches. The Blues mirrored Whitworth's results with a 0-0 draw against Pacific and a 1-0 win over George Fox. Under fifth-year head coach Michelle Voiland, the Blues have outscored opponents 9-2 this season. Sophomore Leah Barnes has three goals and two assists to lead the offense. Junior GK Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky has a .250 goals-against average and has stopped 92.3% of the shots she has faced. Last season Whitworth lost 1-0 at home to Whitman and then played to a 1-1 tie in Walla Walla.
Linfield is 3-3-2 overall and 1-3 in the NWC after playing three conference matches last week. The Wildcats lost 1-0 at Pacific on Wednesday, lost 2-0 at Puget Sound on Saturday and 2-0 at Pacific Lutheran on Sunday. Head coach Steve Simmons is in the sixth season of his second stint coaching soccer at Linfield. The Wildcats have scored seven goals and allowed eight in 2024. Freshman Julia Alvarez has scored three of the team's goals, while graduate student Rae Gerking has two goals and an assist. Last season Linfield defeated Whitworth 2-1 in McMinnville before the Pirates won 1-0 in Spokane.
The Coach: Whitworth soccer alum Cameron Bushey is in his third season as head coach of the women's soccer team. The Pirates followed up a 6-8-5 record during his first year in 2022 with a 9-6-5 mark (9-5-2 NWC) last season.
Bushey came from Stanislaus State, where he was the top assistant coach. Bushey has club coaching stints in Spokane and Colorado and he was an assistant at Gonzaga University for two seasons (2018-19). He graduated from Whitworth in 2012 as a four-time All-NWC honoree who helped lead the Pirates to three NWC titles and NCAA Division III tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.
Coming up: Whitworth will host Lewis & Clark and Willamette on October 5th and 6th.
