Whitman's trouble on defense was due in part to the loss of senior
defender Mike Zotter, who suffered a knee injury last week. Zotter will be
sidelined for at least one more week, Houston said."Their guys were huge, fast and skilled, and they just took us apart in the first half," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said. "We held our own more in the second half. It was a good game for us in that it showed us another level we can try to reach."
Gonzaga enjoyed its most successful West Coast Conference season a year ago, placing third. The Missionaries played without several freshmen who stayed at home to participate in opening week activities at Whitman.
Karl Hynes scored at the 10-minute mark of overtime to give
Concordia University a 3-2 sudden death victory over Whitman on Ankeny
Field. Hynes scored
at the net a split second after Whitman goalkeeper Joe Capp made a
diving deflection of a point-blank shot.Capp's initial stop on the play was one of several superlative saves he made during the game.
"Joe is cat-like in front of the goal," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said. "His reflexes are tremendous. He is one of the keepers who will keep us in games this season."
Capp, a freshman, is splitting time at the keeper position with sophomore Garth Giles. "Garth isn't as quick but he's bigger and has more experience at this level," Houston. "Both can do the job."
Whitman enjoyed a 2-1 lead at halftime on goals by Brandon Wright and Brady Bennon. Wright's scored was assisted by Scott Siler.
Concordia knotted the score at 2-2 with about 10 minutes left in regulation to set the stage for overtime.
Dan Birkey, Concordia's coach for the past 10 years, was full of praise for Whitman. "I've been in this area for two decades, first as a player and then as a coach, and this is the best, most organized Whitman team I've seen," he said. "It isn't a good win for us unless we play a quality opponent, and Whitman has a good team."
Scott Siler and Rob Tonnsen each booted a goal while goalkeepers Garth
Giles and Joe Capp combined for a shutout as Whitman posted a 2-0 victory
over Northwest Nazarene College on Ankeny Field.Siler gave the Missionaries a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal at the 40-minute mark. Tonnsen, with an assist from Siler, scored early in the second half and Whitman coasted home to victory.
Giles recorded two saves in the first half. Capp had five more after intermission. Whitman outshot NNC 20-9.
Seattle scored two minutes into the game when the Missionaries failed to clear a ball from the front of their goal. The visitors added a second goal on a penalty kick and then stretched their lead to 3-0 by halftime.
"Seattle's first four goals were all preventable," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said. "They did a good job to finish those plays, but we pretty much gave them those goals."
Whitman's trouble on defense was due in part to the loss of senior
defender Mike Zotter, who suffered a knee injury last week. Zotter will be
sidelined for at least one more week, Houston said.
The Missionaries played a much stronger game at the offensive end, Houston said. "We played together as well as we have the past two seasons," he said. "We pieced together a number of passes, and we created some scoring opportunities. We just didn't finish."
Playing its first season in the Northwest Conference, Seattle will probably finish at or near the top of the final standings, Houston said. "They still have a number of players who were recruited on athletic scholarships, and they've always had a strong team."
One goal wasn't enough for Whitman as host Whitworth used a hat trick from senior midfielder Keith Husby to post a 3-1 Northwest Conference victory in Spokane, Wash.
The Pirates led 2-0 at halftime and extended their advantage to 3-0 11 minutes into the second half. Whitman notched its only goal in the 65th minute when fast-breaking freshman Nick Crandall scored off a pass from Scott Siler.
Whitworth outshot Whitman 19-10. Missionary keeper Garth Giles had eight saves.
Pacific, the defending NCIC champion, led 1-0 at halftime. The visitors upped their advantage to 2-0 early in the second half.
"Our team did a lot of things well, except for scoring," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said. "We controlled the pace and the tempo better than we have in the past. Even when the score was 2-0, the game wasn't out of reach. We had our chances, and if we could have stuck in a goal, we were still in the game."
The Boxers added two goals in the final 12 minutes to seal the win. "Pacific was the league champion last year, and they are tough," Houston said. "But that's a team we could beat."
Pacific outshot Whitman 15-4. Whitman goalkeeper Joe Capp picked up 10 saves.
"It wasn't a bad effort on our part," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said. "It's just the little things that continue to hurt us. We had a few defensive breakdowns, but what really hurt us was our failure to keep possession of the ball once we had it. If you continue to give up the ball over and over again, it eventually catches up with you."
George Fox outshot Whitman 15-7. Missionary goalkeeper Joe Capp had 10 saves. Whitman continued to play without two senior starters, defender Mike Zotter and midfielder Brady Bennon.
Puget Sound, which scored two goals in each half, outshot the Missionaries 20-15.
Johan Wahlgren, a freshman from Angelholm, Sweden, tallied the game's first goal in the 32nd minute of the first half. With the Lutes clinging to their 1-0 lead, PLU goalkeeper Jonas Tanzer tipped away a point-blank shot by Whitman's Brandon Wright early in the second half. Tanzer is a freshman from Soderkoping, Sweden.
PLU finally iced the game late in the second half when Geir Thune, a freshman from Gjovik, Norway, booted a pair of goals.
The Lutes outshot Whitman 18-7. Missionary keeper Garth Giles had three saves.
Whitman scored twice in the final 15 minutes of play, but the rally fell
short as visiting Willamette held on for a 3-2 Northwest Conference
victory on Ankeny Field.With Willamette leading 3-0, Whitman's Damian Hoffman scored an unassisted goal in the 75th minute to get the Missionaries on the scoreboard. Hollis Erikson tallied Whitman's second goal with five minutes left to play on an assist from Dan Millikan.
Willamette held off the hard-charging Missionaries in the final minutes, however, to seal the win. "It was good to see our guys play with some passion and fire," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said.
Defensive breakdowns in the first half is what eventually cost Whitman the game, Houston said. "You just cannot have those kinds of breakdowns at the collegiate level. If you do, you are going to pay for it, and we did."
Despite the loss, the Missionaries continue to show signs of improvement, Houston added. "We take little steps here and little steps there. It's coming together slowly, more slowly than the guys would like, and more slowly than I would like, but we're getting there."
The Bearcats took a 2-0 halftime lead and then extended its lead to 3-0 in the the 68th minute of play.
"We basically gave away that goal in the first two minutes," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said. "I don't think we were awake and ready to play yet."
As the game continued, the Missionaries misfired on a number of scoring opportunities. "We had open chances to score, all kinds of chances," Houston said. "There is no way that team should have beaten us. We just didn't have the concerted effort we have had in other games."
Whitman outshot Linfield 10-8. Missionary goalkeeper Garth Giles had six saves.
"It was a good win for our guys -- the first time Whitman has beaten Whitworth in years, and it was fun for me to beat my alma mater," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said. Houston, a Whitworth graduate, was a four-year starter on its soccer team.
Hollis Erikson also scored for the Missionaries, but his second-half goal was waived off on a close offsides call. "We had a number of scoring opportunities during the game," Houston said. "We certainly could have put more than goal in the net."
Lakin, a freshman, scored off an Erikson assist in the 17th minute of
play. "Olaf is a smooth player," Houston said. "He's going to be a solid
member of this team."
Whitworth outshot the Missionaries 9-7 in a game dominated by the defenses. Giles had six saves for Whitman.
"Garth played very well for us, very strong," noted Houston, who continues to juggle playing time between Giles and freshman Joe Capp. "It's a hard yet good situation," he said. "They are both very, very good keepers. I don't feel as if I lose anything with either one of them."
Capp, who suffered bruised rib cage and sternum last weekend, was ready to play against Whitworth, Houston said. "Joe has a high pain threshold. He would played without hesitation. He's not a complainer."
Houston also has plenty of praise for his three backline defenders --
Steve Preikschat, Bill Burkoth and John Mackay. "Billy and Steve are very
solid; they don't make many mistakes. John played some at keeper for us
last season, so he has good vision of the field and he's normally in the
right position."
Houston said Phil Capp and freshman Bill Boyton also turned in strong efforts against Whitworth while splitting time at the defensive stopper position. "Both are very aggressive players."
The Missionary offense also continues to improve, Houston said. "They played well. They're playing with cohesion now, which makes it much easier to attack, and to defend as well."
Despite the loss, the improving Missionaries gave Seattle a much tougher battle than earlier in the season. Seattle downed Whitman 6-0 last month on Ankeny Field.
Whitman led 1-0 at halftime. The Missionaries scored in the first two minutes of the game when Scott Siler found the net off a crossing pass from Brandon Wright. "Brandon got to a ball in the corner and slotted it back in front of the goal," Whitman coach Brandon Houston said. "Scott beat a defender to the ball and then beat the keeper. It was a nice run and nice finish for Scott."
After PLU evened the score at 1-1 early in the second half, Whitman
regained the lead at 2-1 when Hollis Erikson controlled the ball in front
of the goal and whirled to ram home an unassisted goal in the 66th minute
of play. Less than two minutes later, however, PLU scored on a corner kick
to knot the score again and eventually send the game into
overtime.
PLU outshot Whitman 13-7 and enjoyed an 11-4 advantage on corner kicks. Whitman goalkeeper Joe Capp had six saves.
"We had the lead, and it was a game we could have won," Whitman coach Brandt Houston said. "But when you get the other team down, you have to keep them down, and we didn't do that."
Despite the loss, Houston said Whitman continues to improve. "As frustrating as it to lose as many games as we have, I see improvement every time we step on the field," he said. "The big picture is that we've taken small steps in the right direction all season, and the guys are putting their hearts into every game."
"We are just now getting to the point of being comfortable with what I'm asking the guys to do," Houston added. "Unfortunately, we're getting to the end of the season. If the guys will use this as a jumping off point and continue working hard in the offseason, we could have a great season next year."
