By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's soccer team is looking to get back on track this weekend with a pair of matches at George Fox on Saturday and Lewis & Clark on Sunday. Both contests will start at noon in 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: Whitworth (0-4-3, 0-3-1 NWC) dropped a pair of road matches last week at Whitman and Linfield.
The Bucs fell 1-0 in a road battle with Whitman on Wednesday night. The Blues took the lead in the 29th minute with a goal off the foot of Avery Coen. The Pirates struggled to get offensive pressure on the Whitman defense with just one shot on goal in the first half. Katherine Kent and Kylee Russell had a pair of chances in the second half, but the Bucs couldn't find the equalizer. Karlee Roderick made six saves to keep the game in reach.
On Sunday, Whitworth fell 2-0 to Linfield. The Wildcats took an early lead after a corner kick was deflected towards the goal and into the net. Katherine Kent and Faith Shaw each fired a shot on goal in the final 10 minutes, but Alexa Fritz saved both chances. With time winding down, Linfield put the game on ice with a goal from the right side of the box. The Pirates were held to three shots on goal in the match and generated one corner kick. With time winding down, Linfield put the game on ice with a goal from the right side of the box.
The Opponents: George Fox (0-4-4, 0-3-2 NWC) hosts Whitworth seeking its first win of the season. Last weekend, the Bruins fell 1-0 to Lewis & Clark in their third consecutive loss. GFU has scored just one goal so far this season and averages a conference-low 6.13 shots per game. Sophomore forward Makena Speer scored the lone Bruin goal. Freshman Marisa Lam and junior Emily Roby have made four starts at goalkeeper this season. Lam has a .897 save percentage while Roby has a .818 save percentage. Whitworth beat GFU 3-0 in Newberg last season and has not suffered a loss to the Bruins since 2018.
Lewis & Clark is 1-6-1 overall and 1-3 in conference matches heading into this weekend. The Pioneers defeated George Fox 1-0 before a 2-1 loss to Pacific (Ore.) last weekend. L&C has scored six times this season but has given up a conference-high 17 goals. The Pios average 7.25 shots and 3.38 shots on goal per game. Five different players have scored a goal in a spread-out offensive attack. Senior midfielder Carli Driskill leads the team with two assists. Senior goalkeeper Anna Ingadottir has six starts on the season and has a save percentage of .773. The Pirates swept the season series with the Pioneers last season, including a 3-2 win in Portland.
NWC Standings: Linfield, Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran each have 10 points at the top of the standings with 3-0-1 conference records. Whitman is fourth at 2-0-2 and Pacific is in fifth (1-1-3). Willamette (1-4-1) has four points and Lewis & Clark (1-3) has three. George Fox (0-3-2) and Whitworth (0-3-1) are pushing to move up from the bottom.
Watch on FloCollege: Like the rest of the Northwest Conference, Whitworth's home athletic events will be steamed 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 26-24-15 record under Bushéy and a 24-19-9 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 host Puget Sound on October 11th and Pacific Lutheran on October 12th during Homecoming weekend.
