"The defense played a great game," Shields said. "Except for the penalty
kick, we shut them down entirely."Gonzaga freshman Sara Streufert celebrated her birthday by scoring four of the Bulldog goals. Gonzaga outshot Whitman 19-7.
Whitman played without its coach, Scott Shields, who stayed home because of illness, and several first-year players. Missionary freshmen did not make the trip to Spokane because they were participating in opening week activities on campus. With Shields not on the sideline, assistant coach Genie Huntemann ran the team against Gonzaga.
"We dominated the game and outshot them by quite a bit," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We just couldn't find the goal."
Concordia netted the game's only score in the first half thanks to a Missionary miscue on defense. One of Concordia's forwards picked off an errant drop pass and scored.
Meanwhile, Whitman's offense endured a frustrating afternoon. "We had a number of opportunities," Shields said. "Jennie Russell hit the crossbar with one outside shot, and their goalkeeper came up with a few big saves to help them with the game."
A fluke goal five minutes into overtime gave Seattle University a 1-0
Northwest Conference victory over Whitman on Ankeny Field."It was definitely a fluke goal," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "It was a long shot, and Bonnie Yocum, our goalkeeper had it covered. Bonnie must have taken her eyes off the ball at the last minute. It squirted through her hands and just dribbled into the net."
"It was too bad because Bonnie had made some awesome saves earlier in the game," Shields added. "This was an easy attempt that you don't worry about."
Yocum got plenty of support from her defense, which is spearheaded by Wendy Lilliedoll and Jamie Grindrod. "The defense continues to play great," Shields said. Seattle, one of the strongest soccer teams in the conference, controlled the game in the first half and early in the second. Toward the end of the game, however, the Missionaries took control and created more scoring opportunities of their own.
"We were able to finish the game on a strong note, and that gives us something to take into Wednesday's game at Whitworth," Shields said. Seattle edged Whitworth 2-1 last Saturday.
Whitworth broke open a tight defensive battle with a pair of second-half goals to grab a 2-0 Northwest Conference victory over visiting Whitman.
The Pirates scored their first goal just two minutes into the second half. Whitworth did not seal the win, however, until it tallied a second goal with less than four minutes remaining. Whitman keeper Bonnie Yocum had seven saves in the game.
A decision by Whitman coach Scott Shields to move Chrissy Vaughn from
midfielder to forward paid immediate dividends Saturday when Vaughn
booted the game-winning goal in overtime to help the Missionaries post a
2-1 Northwest Conference over victory over visiting Pacific University.Vaughn, a sophomore, scored in the third minute of sudden death overtime on a return pass from Jenny Russell, another sophomore. "Chrissy scored from the left corner, about 18 yards out," Shields said. "She shot it high, just over the keeper, into the far post. It was a great shot."
Whitman tallied its first goal just four minutes into the game. Kristen Ott scored from four yards on a pass from freshman Jennie Wood. Pacific evened the score at 1-1 and forced overtime when it scored on a penalty kick with five minutes left in regulation.
"The defense played a great game," Shields said. "Except for the penalty
kick, we shut them down entirely."
Wendy Lilliedoll keyed the defensive effort from the stopper position. "She also came up strong into the attack," Shields said. "She helped create quite a bit of offense for us."
Whitman outshot Pacific 21-10. Whitman keeper Bonnie Yocum, a sophomore from Redmond, Wash., had eight saves.
"We had our chances to score, but overall we didn't play very well after having played so well the day before," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Part of the problem was a lack of patience when we had possession of the ball. When our forwards got the ball, instead of waiting for support from our midfielders, they just turned and headed toward the goal."
George Fox scored its first goal in the 12th minute of play. After Whitman keeper Bonnie Yocum made a diving stop of a shot on goal, the ball bounced free and was promptly drilled into the net by George Fox's unguarded Katrina Crabb.
The score remained 1-0 until George Fox notched a clinching goal with six minutes left in the game.
George Fox outshot Whitman 14-9. Yocum had eight saves for the Missionaries.
The Loggers, after scoring in the 34th minute of the first half, held its precarious 1-0 lead until scoring again with two just minutes left in the game. Puget Sound outshot the Missionaries 17-7.
PLU took the early lead when it scored in the eighth minute of regulation play. Whitman's offense caught fire in the second half and the persistent pressure finally paid off when Jamie Grindrod scored on a 30-yard free kick with six minutes left in regulation.
PLU enjoyed a 27-15 shot advantage, forcing Whitman goalkeeper Bonnie Yocum to make 11 saves.
Following a scoreless first half, Willamette scored in the 56th minute to take the lead. With six minutes left in the game, unleashed the first of three quick goals to win going away.
"It was a great game until the last six minutes," Whitman coach Scott Shields. "We had just as many scoring opportunities early in the game as they did. It was our best game of the season, except for the very end."
Whitman's best scoring chance in the first half came when freshman Jennie Wood's shot from 20 yards sailed just wide. In the second half, Jenny Russell's crossing pass to the front of Willamette's goal nearly produced a score. "We had a couple of people in front of the goal," Shields said. "We just missed getting a foot or a head on it."
For the game, Willamette outshot Whitman 16-10. Missionary goalkeeper Bonnie Yocum collected seven saves.
With four players booting a goal, the women's soccer team posted a 4-1
Northwest Conference victory over Linfield on Ankeny Field. "It was a good
win for us," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Four goals is a good
pick-me-up for our offense."Nicole Marshall, with an assist from Erin Lawson, opened the scoring for Whitman at just seven minutes into the game. After Linfield pulled even at 1-1 at the 11:40 mark, the Missionaries countered quickly, taking a 2-1 five minutes later on Chrissy Vaughn's goal. Jamie Grindrod got the assist.
The game stayed close until Jessica Neff scored on a crossing pass from Vaughn with five minutes left in the second half. Jenny Russell, assisted by Jamey Alsop, added Whitman's fourth goal with two minutes left in the game.
Whitman dominated play in the first half before Linfield gained the
momentum in the second half. "We were in their face the whole first half,"
Shields said. "They did a good job coming back at us in the second
half."
"Our third goal was really key for us," Shields added. "That put us over the top and really took the wind out of Linfield's sails. The offense had a good build-up on the left side. Chrissy Vaughn was able to get free in the corner and cross the ball in front of the goal. We had one player come right down the middle with a defender, but the ball sailed over their heads. Jessica Neff was waiting all alone in the far corner of the goal. All she had to do was block the ball into the net with her body."
Each team took 14 shots in the game. Whitman goalkeeper Becca Yenser, making her first start of the season, had 10 saves.
"Becca did a good job in goal," Shields said. "I think she's just as good as our other keeper (Bonnie Yocum). She's just not as experienced."
"The great thing about this weekend was that I got to play everyone off the bench both days," Shields said. "It let me see some of the new players in action, and they played well."
For the second time this season, Seattle University scored early in
sudden-death overtime to pin a 1-0 loss on Whitman in Northwest Conference
action. The host Chieftains scored five minutes into overtime to grab the
win and improve its first-place NCIC record to 7-1-1. Seattle began the
weekend ranked eighth nationally in the NAIA."This was the best game we've played all season," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "I don't know if we outplayed them (in regulation), but we certainly had better chances to score and win the game before overtime."
Whitman, which outshot Seattle 14-13, nearly scored early in the second half when Chrissy Vaughn's attempt from 16 yards squirted past the goalkeeper -- only to hit the post and bounce back to the keeper. "Seattle's goalkeeper made some great saves on shots we took," Shields said. "Their coach said it was her keeper's best game ever."
Shields also praised his defense for "oustanding work" throughout the game. Wendy Lilliedoll, Jamie Grindrod and Erin Lawson keyed the defense with help at times from Wren McNally and Jennie Russell. Anne Fletcher, another starting defender, was lost recently to a season-ending ankle injury.
Bonnie Yocum played keeper for Whitman in the first half. Becca Yenser took over in the second half and overtime period.
Whitman outshot Whitworth 14-10, but it was the visiting Pirates who
escaped from Ankeny Field with a 2-1 Northwest Conference victory.Whitworth bolted to an early lead, scoring in the fifth minute of play and again at the 12:42 mark. The Missionaries trimmed their deficit to 2-1 when Jamie Grindrod, assisted by Jennie Wood, scored with 22:40 gone in the first half. That was it for the scoring, however, as the Pirates held off a persistent Whitman attack to nail down the victory.
The Missionaries, who made the conference playoffs a year ago, dropped to 2-7-1 in the NCIC and 2-9-1 on the season.
Wednesday's loss was Whitman's third NCIC setback by a single-goal margin. Two of those losses were 1-0 overtime defeats at the hands of first-place Seattle University.
"We haven't been losing by much, and we're definitely a better team than our record shows," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Other coaches don't take us lightly. They know they have to play a very good game to beat us."
Whitworth notched its first goal Wednesday when two Whitman defenders stopped in pursuit of a loose ball, each thinking the other was going to clear the threat. That allowed Whitworth's Lehua Kay to gain possession and score from six yards out.
"It was just poor communication on our part," Shields said. "There wasn't much our keeper, Bonnie Yocum, could do once the shot was taken from that close."
Whitworth earned its second goal. Heidi Hultgrenn tapped in the shot, again from close range, after outrunning a Whitman defender to reach a pinpoint crossing pass from teammate Marilyn Piduch. "For whatever reason, after Whitworth scored its second goal, we started playing some great soccer," Shields said. "We dominated the rest of the half."
Whitman scored its first-half goal when Wood reached a ball in the right corner and booted a crossing pass to the far right post of Whitworth's goal. "It was a beautiful, well-placed pass," Shields said. "The ball sailed over the keeper's head and Grindrod was right there, waiting for it. Jamie plays sweeper on defense for us, and she made a full-field run as the play developed. She made the right run to the right spot at the right time."
Whitman continued to pressure Whitworth's defense in the second half. "We had the ball, we had the attack, most of the time," Shields said. "We could have easily scored again. Whether it's luck or not, we just didn't get the right bounces."
The Missionaries nearly scored midway through the second half on a crossing pass from Chrissy Vaughn. After the pass floated over the keeper's head toward the far post, Whitman's Jenny Russell deflected the ball in mid-air toward an open net.
Unfortunately for the Missionaries, the shot attempt sailed over the crossbar. It was the latest in a season-long series of near misses.
"We played a very good game, and it was great to get the late goal to win," Whitman coach Scott Shields said.
Vaughn's winning shot was her second attempt in the matter of just a few seconds. The play started when Vaughn shot from the right side, about 18 yards out. The ball bounced off the near post, careened across the face of the goal where teammate Jessica Neff gained control and pushed a pass through a mass of players. Vaughn took the pass and hammered home a shot from eight yards out.
"Chrissy has a great shot with either leg," Shields said. "She hits it hard."
Sara Sakamoto notched Whitman's first goal just two minutes into the opening half. After George Fox evened the score at 1-1 at the 19-minute mark, Vaughn countered with her first goal of the day in the 38th minute of the first half. Jennie Wood got the assist on both of Whitman's first-half goals.
"Our first two goals were almost identical," Shields said. "We controlled
the ball in our defensive half of the field, moved it to
center-midfield and then hit the ball into the far right corner. In both
cases, Jennie ran down the ball and crossed a perfect pass over the
keeper's head, where we had players just waiting for the ball, all
alone, at the far post."
In each case, Sakamoto and Vaughn headed the ball into the net.
"That play is something we work on in practice all the time," Shields said. "To have it work in the first minutes of the game was fun. When we did it again later in the half, it was just a beautiful play to watch."
George Fox outshot Whitman 18-14, but Missionary goalkeeper Bonnie Yocum came up with 12 saves. "Bonnie really kept us in the game," Shields said.
Counting a 30-minute overtime period, Whitman and Pacific battled
for a solid two hours before finally settling for a 0-0 tie in Forest
Grove, Oregon. "After Saturday's tough victory over George Fox, I thought
I was going to have to carry a few of my players off the field," Whitman
coach Scott Shields said. "They were exhausted.""We played a pretty good game, just not as well as we did the day before against George Fox," Shields added. "Pacific has a huge field, and it takes some time to get used to it. The match was fairly even all the way through. Both teams had their chances."
Faye Davis-Jeffers nearly gave Whitman a sudden death victory early in the overtime session. Her shot attempt off a crossing pass, however, sailed over the top crossbar.
During regulation play, both Nicole Marshall and Sara Sakamoto nearly converted scoring opportunities. Pacific outshot the Missionaries 15-11, but Whitman keeper Becca Yenser had nine saves to record her shutout.
"Our biggest problem right now is the number of injuries we have," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We have so many injuries that it is hurting our consistancy. The players coming off the bench are doing a fine job, but with so many subs in the game we lose the consistancy we've been building all season."
PLU led 1-0 at halftime, but Whitman's Chrissy Vaughn evened the score at 1-1 when she nailed a 35-yard shot in the 71st minute of the game. Seven minutes later, however, the Lutes took the lead for good at 2-1 and then stretched its advantage to 3-1 with 10 minutes left to play.
One minute later, Whitman's Nicole Marshall scored off an assist from Sara Sakamoto to complete the scoring. PLU outshot Whitman 20-15. Whitman keeper Becca Yenser had 17 saves.
The Missionaries, who lost starting defender Anne Fletcher to a broken ankle earlier this month, also played Saturday without starter Jennie Russell, who was sidelined with a knee injury. Two other starters, Kristen Ott and Corinne Schuler, played limited minutes because of injury, and starters Jamie Grindrod and Wendy Lilliedoll had to leave the game at times because of leg cramps and broken tooth.
The Loggers exploited Whitman's injury-weakened defense to grab a 1-0 lead at the 9-minute mark of the first half. That was it for the scoring until Linfield added an insurance goal with 10 minutes left in the game.
"It was a fairly well played game, and we had a decent number of shots," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "But most of our shots were outside the 18-yard penalty box, and UPS has a very good keeper. She really didn't have to make any great saves."
UPS outshot Whitman 19-12. Missionary goalkeeper Bonnie Yocum made 12 saves to keep her team in the contest.
After scoring its first goal in less than a minute, Whitman fell into a
70-minute funk and eventually dropped a 3-2 Northwest Conference decision
to Linfield in McMinnville, Oregon."It was probably the worst 70 minutes of soccer we played all season," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We started playing well in the last 20 minutes, and there were times when I thought we were going to tie the score and maybe even win the game. We took most of our shots in the last 20 minutes, and we were in their end of the field that whole time. We had a lot of opportunities that we didn't finish."
Whitman scored its first goal just 43 seconds into the game. After the Missionaries controlled the ball at midfield, Kristen Ott threaded a pass to Chrissy Vaughn for the score. "Kristen hit Chrissy with a through ball, and Chrissy basically had the keeper one-on-one. It was a great pass."
Linfield rebounded with a pair of goals midway through the first half to lead 2-1 at the break. The Wildcats added a goal early in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Whitman's Sara Sakamoto converted a penalty kick at the 70-minute mark to cut the Missionary deficit to 3-2.
Poor field conditions may have contributed to Whitman's poor play for much of the game, Shields said. "They had a huge mud pit in the middle of the field that you couldn't dribble or pass through," he said. "We kept trying to do that for most of the game, though, for whatever reason."
Both teams finished with 14 shots on goal. Whitman keep Becca Yenser finished with five saves.
For a few moments early the second half, Whitman enjoyed a 1-1 deadlock
with nationally-ranked Willamette. But 20 seconds after Erin Glenn headed
in a goal to pull the visiting Missionaries even at 1-1, Willamette
responded with the first of five second-half goals to take a 6-1 Northwest
Conference victory.The Bearcats, who ended their regular season in first place in the conference, will host a four-team conference playoff beginning Nov. 8.
"Willamette has an excellent team," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We found out why they have been beating everyone so badly this season."
The first half ended with Willamette in front 1-0. "Willamette dominated the first half, but our defense was playing very well," Shields noted. Defenders Wendy Lilliedoll, Jamie Grindrod, Erin Lawson and Jenny Russell helped keeper Becca Yenser hold Willamette's high-powered offense in check.
Three minutes into the second half, Glenn scored off a crossing pass from Chrissy Vaughn to give Whitman's its short-lived 1-1 tie. Once the Bearcats got their second goal, however, "they couldn't miss after that," Shields said. "But they were all nice goals. There wasn't much Becca could do."