By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's soccer team closes the 2025 season with a trip to Tacoma to visit two teams tied atop the conference standings. The Pirates visit Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and battle Puget Sound on Sunday. Both matches will begin at 11:00am as the first leg of a men's-women's doubleheader.
Check the Whitworth women's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
The Pirates: The Bucs (3-6-8 overall, 3-5-6 NWC) unbeaten streak extended to six matches after a draw and win in the final home weekend at Whitworth Soccer Field.
Whitworth tied 0-0 with Lewis & Clark on Saturday. The Pirates set new season highs in shots (19) and shots on goal (10) but couldn't break through for a game-winning goal. Lily Cardenas led the attack with four shots on goal and Rebekah Hines had two. The Whitworth defense allowed just three total shots, a season low for opponents. Karlee Roderick earned her fourth shutout of the season.
The Pirates honored 10 seniors on Sunday and followed up the pregame recognition with a 4-1 win over George Fox. Senior captain Addison Dizard put the Bucs up early after a great through ball from Mac Lembcke. The Bruins responded quickly to tie the game, but Emma Ellerd drove to the net and scored her first goal of the season just before halftime. Maia Santa Monica put the Pirates up 3-1 in the 56th minute and Dizard added her second of the match in the 80th minute. Nine different Pirates had a shot on goal and Pagie Broadrick made three saves.
Dizard earned Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week honors for her performance on Sunday.
The Opponents: Pacific Lutheran (10-2-6 overall, 10-0-4 NWC) remains unbeaten in conference play heading into the final weekend. The Lutes beat Linfield 1-0 and tied 1-1 with Pacific (Ore.) last week. PLU has 18 goals in conference play and has allowed just three, lowest in the league. Froward Liv Olson is second in the league with eight goals and fourth in shots. Froward Kiana Gutierrez leads the team with six assists. Goalkeeper Abby Winkler leads the conference in save percentage (.943), goals against average (.215) and shutouts (10) in conference play. PLU holds a 12-match winning streak over the Pirates, including a 1-0 win in Spokane on October 12th.
Puget Sound (11-2-5, 10-0-4 NWC) pulled into a tie with PLU for the top spot in the conference after wins against Pacific and Linfield last weekend. The Logger have had the best attack in the conference with 25 goals and 206 shots. Opponents have scored just three goals against them as well. Forward Leila Hausia-Haugen leads the UPS attack with a league-high 27 shots on goal and nine goals. Goalkeeper Gianna Maldonado is second to PLU's Winkler in save percentage (.879), goals against average (.308) and shutouts (9). Since 2001, the Pirates have never beaten the Loggers in Tacoma (0-19-4). The teams tied 0-0 in their matchup in Spokane on October 11th.
Flipping the Script: After scoring just one goal in the first half of the NWC schedule, the Pirate women have turned the tides. The Bucs have scored nine goals in the last six matches and have not been defeated in the second half of conference play. They will look to keep the momentum going against the top two teams in the conference this weekend.
NWC Standings: Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound are tied in first place at 10-0-4 and 34 points with two games remaining. Linfield (6-5-3) holds third with Whitman (4-3-7) jumping to fourth. Pacific (3-5-7) is in fifth with Whitworth (3-5-6) one point behind. Lewis & Clark (3-7-4) and Willamette (2-6-6) are fighting for seventh with George Fox (0-10-5) locked into eighth.
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: Whitworth soccer alum Cameron Bushéy is in his fourth season as head coach of the women's soccer team. The Pirates have a 29-26-20 record under Bushéy and a 27-21-14 mark in the Northwest Conference.
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 begin the 2026 season next August. Check whitworthpirates.com for any Pirate women's soccer updates.
