By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's soccer squad opens the second half of the Northwest conference schedule on the road against Pacific on Saturday and Willamette on Sunday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 2:45 as the second leg of a men's-women's doubleheader.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: The Pirates (4-2-3 overall, 4-1-3 NWC) played to a pair of 1-1 draws last weekend against westside foes Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran.
On Saturday, Puget Sound's late equalizer in the 88th minute pulled the Loggers even with Whitworth. After a very evenly played first half with four shots apiece, the Bucs broke through with a goal in the 57th minute. Dom Schauman dribbled the ball all the way to the goal line before flicking it to the middle of the box for Dominic Gusman to put in the back of the net for his fifth score of the season. After an insurance goal was called offside, the Loggers capitalized on a bad pass and evened the score with a good look following a deflected shot. UPS edged Whitworth 8-7 in total shots, but the Bucs had a 3-2 edge in shots on goal. Dax Flanders made one save.
Sunday's match against Pacific Lutheran finished with the same result, but the Pirates were the team to pull even. The Lutes came out with early offensive pressure and struck first with a well-placed corner kick that was headed into the net from the near post. The Pirates regrouped and outshot PLU in the second half. That pressure earned the Bucs a set piece just outside the box, where Lucas Diaz hooked a free kick into the left side of the net for his second of the season. PLU had a narrow 20-19 advantage in shots and Whitworth finished with a 6-4 edge in shots on goal. Diaz finished with seven total shots and four on goal. Aiden Chase made three saves.
Lockdown Defense: Whitworth's defense has been a major key to success through eight NWC games. In those eight games, the Pirates have allowed the fewest goals (7) and hold a league-best 0.88 goals-against average. Whitworth's four shutouts are also best in the NWC. Pirate goalkeepers have combined for a .759 save percentage against conference opponents, good for second highest in the league.
Leading the back line is senior center back Johnny Finnegan, who was named NWC men's soccer Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week on October 6th. Both Dax Flanders and Aiden Chase have two clean sheets at goalkeeper this season.
The Opponents: Pacific heads into this week with a 2-6-4 overall record and 2-4-3 conference mark. The Boxers played to two 1-1 ties against George Fox and Willamette last week. Pacific has struggled to find the back of the net this season with the second-to-lowest goal total through eight conference games (8). They have fared better defensively with a 1.44 goals-against average. Sophomore Carter Zeiset leads the team with three goals. Freshman Cole Affolter and graduate student Adam Landy each have two goals while junior Nico Lomanto has a team-high two assists. Freshman Kobi Miyamoto has started ten games in net for Pacific and holds a .764 save percentage. Whitworth beat the Boxers 1-0 on September 21st in Spokane. Pacific will visit Linfield on Wednesday before hosting the Pirates on Saturday.
Willamette is 2-5-6 overall and 2-2-5 in conference play this season. The Bearcats will host George Fox and Whitman this week before Whitworth plays in Salem on Saturday. Willamette ranks sixth in goals (1.33) and fifth in goals allowed (1.56) per game through nine conference games. Freshman Ky Iliev leads the team with six goals; all scored in conference games. Sophomore Brenden Pineda leads the team with three assists. Junior Mikkel Jensen has started all 13 games for the Bearcats and has a .540 save percentage. Willamette and Whitworth tied 2-2 in their first meeting on September 20th in Spokane.
NWC Standings: Whitman remains atop the conference standings with 22 points and an unbeaten 7-0-1 league record. Pacific Lutheran (5-0-3) is in second with 18 points while Whitworth (4-1-3) holds third. Puget Sound (4-3-1, 13 points) is in fourth and Willamette (2-2-5, 11 points) is in fifth. George Fox (2-4-3) and Pacific (2-4-3) each have nine points. Linfield (1-6-2) and Lewis & Clark (0-7-1) are looking to make a late season push from the bottom.
Watch on FloCollege: All of Whitworth's Northwest Conference athletic events will be streamed through FloCollege in 2025-26. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $120 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
The Coach: Kevin Moon became the Pirates' head coach in 2023 and has a 26-13-10 record heading into his third season at the helm. 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: The Whitworth men visit Whitman on Wednesday, October 22nd before returning to Spokane to host Linfield on October 25th.
