By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth women's soccer will play a split schedule this week, hosting Whitman College on Wednesday at 2:30 pm before heading to Oregon to battle Pacific on Saturday at 2:45 pm. Saturday's match will be the second leg of a men's women's doubleheader and both matches will be streamed on FloCollege.
Check the Whitworth women'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 (2-2 overall, 1-1 NWC) dropped their NWC opener but bounced back with a win to split their two matches last weekend.
On Saturday, Whitworth fell 1-0 to Lewis & Clark. The River Otters netted the matches' lone goal in the 31st minute. The Pirates turned up the pressure in the second half and had multiple quality chances but were unable to even the score. Whitworth finished with a 9-4 advantage in shots.
The Pirates bounced back with 1-0 win over Linfield on Sunday. Sylvie Washington rose above the defense and headed in her second goal of the season in the 17th minute to put the Bucs in front. Washington had a chance to double the lead with a penalty kick but sent it over the crossbar. The Pirate defense held the Wildcats without a shot on goal in the clean sheet.
Lock Down Defense: The Pirates have shown to have one of the top performing defenses in the Northwest Conference. So far this season, the Bucs are tied for second in goals allowed (2) and third in goals against average (.50).
In net, sophomore goalkeeper Karlee Roderick has picked up where she left off a season ago, ranking second in the NWC in save percentage (.882), second in goals against average (.50), third in saves per game (3.75) and tied for second with two shutouts.
The Opponents: Whitman (3-1-2, 2-0) makes the midweek trip to Spokane for the first of two Battle of Whits this season. The Blues earned a pair of shutout wins over Linfield and Lewis & Clark last weekend. Through six games, they have scored six goals and allowed four to opponents. Whitman is tied with Pacific in total shots this season with 74. Junior midfielder Avery Coen leads the team with two goals scored. Senior forward Emma Foley has a team-high three assists and one goal scored. Senior keeper Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky has started all six matches for the Blues and has a .789 save percentage with 15 saves. Last season, Whitworth fell to Whitman in Walla Walla and played to a 1-1 draw in Spokane.
Pacific comes into the weekend with a 4-3-1 overall record and 2-2 mark in the NWC. The Boxers dropped both of their conference matches last weekend to Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound. Pacific is a strong attacking team, ranking second in the conference in goals (8) and tied for second in total shots (74). They rank seventh in the league in goals allowed (7) and goals allowed average (1.00). Junior midfielder Rissalyn Hara is a player to watch as she leads the conference in shots (20), shots on goal (12), and is tied for the lead in goals (3). Junior goalkeeper Jaelynn Moo has made six starts in net and posts a .818 save percentage with two goals allowed. The Bucs earned four points against Pacific a season ago with a draw in Spokane and 1-0 win in Forest Grove.
The Coach: Whitworth soccer alum Cameron Bushéy is in his fifth season as head coach of the women's soccer team. The Pirates have a 31-30-20 record under Bushéy and a 28-24-14 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 return to Spokane to host George Fox on October 3 and Willamette on October 4.
