By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth's men's soccer team returns to Spokane this week for a pair of challenging Homecoming weekend matches. The Pirates battle Puget Sound on Saturday and back-to-back Northwest Conference champion Pacific Lutheran 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 advanced to 4-2-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the NWC after two road wins in Oregon last weekend.
Johny Cortez's first goal of the season lifted the Bucs to a 1-0 win at George Fox on Saturday. Cortez collected a pass near the top of the box in the 63rd minute, made a move to his right and hooked the ball into the right side of the net. Whitworth finished the match with an 11-7 advantage in shots and 4-3 lead in shots on goal. Dax Flanders made his second start of the season and made two saves in the clean sheet.
On Sunday, the Pirates scored a season-high number of goals in a 4-0 victory over Lewis & Clark. Cortez scored his second goal of the season and second game-winning goal of the weekend in the 25th minute. Dominic Gusman, who finished the match with a goal and assist, doubled the Pirate lead in the 63rd minute with his third score of the season. Lucas Diaz and Lucas Joehnk added their first goals of the season, both assisted by Ralph Borromeo. Whitworth controlled possession and outshot the Pioneers 17-8 overall with a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal. Aiden Chase made five saves.
Clean Sheets: The Whitworth defense and goalkeepers have led the Bucs to not just three consecutive wins, but three consecutive shutout wins. The Pirates allowed just 10 shots on goal and 22 total shots during that stretch. Through seven matches, Whitworth leads the NWC in goals allowed (seven) and average goals allowed per game (1.00).
Leading the back line is senior center back Johnny Finnegan, who was named this week's (Oct. 6) NWC men's soccer Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week after playing all 180 minutes in the two shutout victories. Both Dax Flanders and Aiden Chase have two clean sheets at goalkeeper this season. Flanders has not allowed a goal in his two starts.
The Opponents: Puget Sound makes the trip to Spokane with a 5-3-1 overall record and 4-2 mark in the NWC. Last weekend, the Loggers fell 3-2 to Linfield on Saturday before outlasting Pacific (Ore.) 2-1. UPS has 19 goals this season, third most in the conference. Opponents have scored 14 goals, third least in the conference. Junior midfielder Rhys Foote leads the Logger attack with eight goals on the season, tied for the league lead, and a team-high four assists. Sophomore forward Jackson Smith has three goals and three assists. Sophomore Luke Mamiya and junior Parker Norris split time at goalkeeper for the Loggers. Norris has allowed five goals and Mamiya has allowed nine. Whitworth and UPS have played to a 1-1 draw in each of the last four matchups with the Pirates earning the latest win in 2022.
Defending conference champion Pacific Lutheran is 6-3-1 overall 5-0-1 in conference play heading into this weekend. The Lutes defeated Pacific 4-1 and Linfield 5-3 last weekend. PLU has outscored opponents 26-16 this season and lead the league with 83 shots on goal. The Lutes' 26 goals pace the conference as well. Junior forward Connor O'Brien leads the NWC with six assists to go along with his five goals. Junior forward Owen Bliskis has a team-high six goals. Sophomore Gio Aguilar-Gutierrez has made five starts at goalkeeper and leads the NWC with a .800 save percentage. PLU holds a nine-match winning streak over the Pirates. The last Whitworth win over the Lutes came in 2021. PLU visits Whitman on Saturday before heading to Spokane on Sunday.
NWC Standings: Whitman tops conference standings with 18 points and an unbeaten 6-0 league record. Pacific Lutheran (5-0-1) is in second with 16 points while Whitworth (4-1-1) jumped to third with 13 points. Puget Sound (4-2, 12 points) is in fourth. Willamette (1-2-4) and Pacific (2-4-1) both have seven points in fifth. George Fox (1-4-2), Linfield (1-5-1) and Lewis & Clark (0-6) are fighting to move up.
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 26-13-8 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 will begin the second half of NWC play with a final trip to Oregon to battle Pacific on October 18th and Willamette on October 19th.
