By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's soccer squad travels to Oregon this weekend for its final road trip of the season. The Bucs will battle Willamette on Saturday and George Fox on Sunday. Both matches will begin at 11:00 am as the first leg of a men's-women's doubleheader.
Check the Whitworth men's soccer schedule for live links to follow the action.
Watch on FloCollege: All of Whitworth's Northwest Conference athletic events will be streamed through FloCollege in 2026-27. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $120 for an annual subscription or $25 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
The Pirates: The Bucs (4-9-3 overall) moved to 2-7-3 in the Northwest Conference after a draw and loss at home last weekend.
After playing Whitman well in Walla Walla earlier this season, the Pirates earned a point in the standings with a 2-2 draw against the Blues on Wednesday afternoon in Spokane. Whitman took an early lead but was answered by Colton Depner's first career goal. The Blues scored early in the second half to take the lead but again Whitworth responded and tied the game with a goal from Jaxsen Teeter in the 81st minute. Goalkeeper Oliver Hart made nine saves and the Pirate back line buckled down to preserve the draw despite allowing a season-high 27 shots.
Whitworth was unable to repeat that success on Sunday, falling 2-1 to Pacific (Ore.). The Boxers scored in the 20th minute before Teeter scored his second game-tying goal of the weekend nine minutes later. The next 50 minutes of action was a battle, but Pacific broke through and scored the game-winner in the 82nd minute. The Bucs managed just three shots on goal. Hart made four saves.
The Opponents: Willamette (6-5-3 overall, 6-3-3 NWC) heads into this weekend with some momentum. The Bearcats are 5-0-1 in their last six matches and have outscored opponents 13-5 in that stretch. Their attack has been efficient in conference play, producing 21 goals (second most), despite ranking sixth in shots per game (11.83). In the defensive third, Willamette has given up 1.33 goals per game to conference opponents. Junior Brenden Pineda leads the team with five goals. Sophomore Dillon Smith and Freshman Carter Heikkila have scored four each. Senior Mikkel Jensen has started all 14 matches at goalkeeper and posts a .722 save percentage. The Bearcats beat the Bucs 3-0 on October 4 in Spokane.
George Fox sits one win ahead of Whitworth in the standings with a 3-9-3 overall record and 3-7-3 NWC mark. The Bruins will host the Bucs on senior day looking to finish the season strong. GFU has scored 17 goals in conference play, tied sixth. They have struggled in the defensive third as their 27 goals allowed are tied with Lewis & Clark for most in the league. Graduate student Zac LeVin leads the attack with six goals and three assists on the season. Senior Chase Nelson has seven starts in net and posts a 1.91 goals against average.
By Committee: The Bucs have shown that anyone on the field is a threat to score, having scored 13 goals by nine different players so far this season. Jaxsen Teeter (4), Boden Thomson (2), Ralph Borromeo, Lucas Waarvick, Ryland Crane, Sebastian Alvarez, Zephyr Wall, Greyson Wheeler, and Colton Depner have all put the ball in the back of the net.
Hartbreaker: Goalkeeper Oliver Hart is having a breakout sophomore season for the Pirates in net. He set a new career-high with 10 saves in a shutout at Pacific Lutheran and ranks first in the NWC in save percentage (.819) and saves per game (5.23). He is currently fourth is goals against average (1.25) and second in total saves (68).
Hart was voted the NWC Men's Soccer Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week on October 12.
NWC Standings: Whitman jumped into first place last weekend with a 9-1-2 record (19 points). Pacific Lutheran holds second at 8-1-3 (27 pts.), and Willamette (6-2-3, 21 pts.) is in third. Pacific (3-4-7, 16 pts.), Puget Sound (3-2-6, 15 pts.), and Linfield (4-6-2, 14 pts.) are fighting for fourth. George Fox (3-7-3, 12 pts.), Whitworth (2-7-3, 9 pts.) and Lewis & Clark (2-10-1, 7 pts.) are looking to make a push.
The Coach: Kevin Moon became the Pirates' head coach in 2023 and has a 33-25-15 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 Pirates will return to Spokane for senior weekend on November 7 and 8 against Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound.
