With Whitman coach Scott Shields splitting his squad into two teams and letting each group play one half, the Missionaries dropped a 4-2 exhibition game decision to Walla Walla Community College Friday evening. The game does not count on Whitman's season record.
Whitman scored in the first minute of play to take a 1-0 lead that held through halftime. Sophomore Kaitlin Varaday booted that first goal just 38 seconds into the contest, after collecting the ball on a deflection from sophomore Meghan Bowen's scoring attempt.
Junior Jana Seaman notched Whitman's second-half goal. She scored off a deflected shot from senior Liz Davis.
The game was played on Whitman's new soccer field near DeSales High School.
First-year player Nanette Langston's first collegiate goal proved to be a game winner Friday afternoon as the Whitman women's soccer team opened its fall season with a 1-0 victory over Whitter College in Whittier, Calif.
"It was a fantastic way to start the season," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Whittier has two very good forwards, and we had trouble stopping their penetration at times. Other than that, we controlled the game pretty well."
The Missionaries outshot the Poets 17-8. Whitman's Rena Parcells got the shutout in goal, making four saves in the process.
Following a scoreless first half, Langston gave Whitman its 1-0 lead with a goal in the 63rd minute of play. Erin Bray, a junior, got the assist. "Erin played a nice ball foward, and Nanette beat the defense one-on-one," Shields said. "It was a beautiful shot by Nanette. The ball bounced off the far post and back into the netting."
Friday's game also opened the season for Whittier, an NCAA Div. III school that plays in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). The Whitman women play Saturday in Los Angeles against Occidental College, also a SCIAC school.
With freshman Nanette Langston notching her second goal in two days, the Whitman women's soccer team wrapped up a perfect weekend with a 2-1 victory over Occidental College Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles.
The victory gives the Missionaries a 2-0 season record heading into their home opener next Wednesday, Sept. 12, against Eastern Oregon University.
Langston opened the scoring Saturday with a goal in the 34th minute of the first half. As she did in Friday's 1-0 victory at Whittier, Langston scored with an assist from sophomore Erin Bray. "Erin played the ball through on a breakaway and then Nanette finished it off," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "It was a nice play."
Nine minutes into the second half, sophomore Kaitlin Varady gave the Missioanries a 2-0 lead, scoring off an assist from junior Megan Mackenzie.
Whitman held Occidental scoreless until the final few minutes of play. "They tucked one away following a big collision with our goalkeeper," Shields said. "It was a cross from the corner, and they pretty well sandwiched our keeper."
Whitman's starting goalie, Rena Parcells, had the day off after posting a shutout in Friday's victory over Whittier. "This was a good opportunity to get our two freshman keepers, Amy Cheney and and Jenny Spears, some playing time," Shields said. Cheney collected two saves in playing the first half, while Spears had five saves in the second half.
Whitman outshot their hosts 14-8 on the day.
Bray was one of several Missionaries who enjoyed strong games, Shields said. "Jana Seaman also played well at forward. She really tore things up for us, along with Nanette."
Occidental, a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, dropped to 0-2 on the season.
"What a fantastic weekend for us," Shields said. "Two wins on the road in the Los Angeles area. That's hard to beat. We're playing with confidence and looking forward to our first home game."
The Whitman women's soccer team took full advantage of undermanned Eastern Oregon University on Wednesday, handing the visitors a 10-1 non-conference thrashing on the new Missionary athletic fields near DeSales High School.
Eastern Oregon, an NCAA Div. II school in its first year of women's soccer, dropped to 0-4 on the season while the resurgent Div. III Missionaries elevated their record to 3-0.
Junior Erin Bray gave Whitman a 1-0 lead, scoring just 90 seconds into the game with an unassisted shot that found the upper right corner of the net. Bray was the first of eight Missionaries who scored as the game unfolded.
Assisted by Bray, freshman Katey Schmitz scored the first of her two goals to give Whitman a 2-0 lead with 6:03 gone in the first frame. With the Missionaries on top 5-0 at halftime, Schmitz booted an unassisted goal to open the second-half scoring.
Whitman sophomore Katlin Varady also collected a pair of goals in the game, her second and third scores of the young season.
Rena Parcells, another of Whitman's sophomores, posted a first-half shutout in goal, recording two saves with the help of a stifling Missionary defense that allowed only four Mountaineer shots. Freshman Amy Cheney took over the keeper chores in the second half.
Whitman coach Scott Shields was quick to applaud short-handed Eastern Oregon, which played with just two reserves to cycle in and out of the game. "My hat is off to them," Shields said. "They never game up. They have a quality program with some strong players, but they don't have the depth to compete for 90 minutes."
As for his own squad, Shields was more than satisfied. "I am happy with how things are going at this point in the season," he said. "Today we had a good contribution from the entire team, and we showed that our depth will be a strength this season."
A total 15 Missionaries took shots in the game, and three Missionaries -- Megan Mackenzie, Julia Makowski and Jenny Spears -- joined with Bray in scoring a goal as well as posting an assist.
The blowout allowed Shields the luxury to experiment. "We tried some new faces in some new positions," he said. "It was nice to get a chance to do that early in the season."
Whitman plays host to Montana State-Billings, also an NCAA Div. II school, this Sunday at 10 a.m. at the new athletic fields.
Scoring
1:28 -- Whitman: Erin Bray, unassisted
The Whitman women's soccer team ran its record to 4-0, its best start since 1996, with a 1-0 victory over Montana State Univesity-Billings Sunday morning on the new Missionary athletic field.
The game's only goal came early, at the 6:08 mark, on what Whitman coach Scott Shields called a "textbook scoring play." Missionary midfield Erin Bray sliced a pass through two defenders, giving a streaking Jana Seaman a relatively easy one-on-one scoring opportunity from 10 yards out. "It was just a great little pass from Erin," Shields said. "It's the best kind of play you can have. The midfielder splits the defense with a pass and finds the far-side forward."
It was Bray's fourth assist of the season. "When Erin has the ball, she can be very deadly with it," Shields said. "She already has set up several great opportunities for us. We've capitalized on some but not all of them."
Once Whitman had the lead, its defense took over. "When you score early, the other side has the rest of the game to keep coming at you," Shields said. "For the team with the one-goal lead, it can become a long defensive battle."
Whitman's defense was up to the challenge, effectively neutralizing Montana's 18-15 edge in shots on goal. Sophomores Meghan Bowen and Rena Parcells anchored the defense. Parcells, who has yet to surrender a goal this season, collected seven saves. "Rena had a couple of great saves that kept them off the scoreboard," Shields said. "Meghan was awesome, again, at the center of our defense. She came through with all the key tackles when we needed them."
"Montana is the best team we've played this season, by far," Shields said. "It was nice that this was a non-conference game. It gave us the chance to continue to work on some things."
Sunday's loss dropped Montana State-Billings to 3-6 on the season. The Yellowjackets downed Whitworth 4-1 Friday night.
Whitman opens its Northwest Conference season on Wednesday, Sept. 19, when it hosts Whitworth. "Montana may have beaten Whitworth the other night, but I really think Whitworth is the more dangerous team," Shields said. "Whitworth has a lot more explosive speed up front."
The Whitman women's team also opened the 1996 season with four straight wins. That year's squad, also coached by Shields, won seven of its first eight games en route to a 12-6-1 season and third-place finish in the NWC.
Sophomore Kaitlin Varady scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season to power the undefeated Whitman women's soccer team to a 2-1 overtime victory over visiting Whitworth Wednesday afternoon. It was the Northwest Conference opener for both schools.
Assisted by Erin Bray, Varady scored on a breakaway at the 6:17 mark of overtime, pushing Whitman's season record to 5-0, its best start in the eight-year tenure of Missionary coach Scott Shields. Whitworth dropped to 2-3 on the season.
"The best part of this victory, from a mental standpoint, is that we came from behind," Shields said. "We gave up the goal in the first half and then fought back to tie it and then win it. That gives us a great boost in confidence, knowing that we can fall behind and still come back against a good team."
"Whitworth is definitely a very good team," Shields added. "They return most of their starters from last year, when they came down here and beat us 7-0. This year's preseason coaches poll picked them to finish third in the conference."
Whitman also returns much of its young roster from last fall, when the Missionaries managed just one victory and one tie in 16 games. "I knew we were going to take some real steps forward this season, but I didn't envision getting off to such a good start," Shields said. "Being this good this early is almost scary."
Bray, a junior midfielder, notched her fifth assist of the season in setting up Varady's winning goal. "Erin won a ball in the midfield and then played it ahead," Shields said. "Kaitlin spun off one of the Whitworth players and must have been three or four yards ahead of the defense. She had plenty of time to pick her spot in the net and beat the goalie one-on-one."
Whitworth grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 27:35 mark of the first half when sophomore Mary Hultgren floated a long, high shot over the fingertips of Missionary keeper Rena Parcells. "It was a floater that couldn't have been placed better," Shields said. "Rena got her hands on it but couldn't quite stop it. Whitworth worked to get the shot and they deserved the goal, but it wasn't the kind we like to give up."
It was the first time Parcells was scored upon this season, and the first time the Missionary defense has allowed a goal prior to halftime.
Whitman evened the score when freshman defender Lindsay Colgan booted her first collegiate goal with just over 15 minutes left to play in regulation. Colgan's goal, assisted by junior defender Lindsay Gore, was similar to Hultgren's goal for Whitworth in the first half.
"Colgan's goal must have come from about 35 yards," Shields said. "It was another case of great placement, and it was great to see one of the defenders score. They do so much work, but they don't get a lot of shots."
Whitworth outshot the Missionaries 24-23, which kept the two keepers busy. Parcells was credited with 16 saves for Whitman, while her freshman Sheila Sutherland had 18 saves for the Pirates.
Sophomore Meghan Bowen continues to anchor Whitman's defense, which has surrendered just three goals in its first five games. Bowen, who earned all-conference honors last fall as a freshman, turned back a two-on-one Whitworth thrust late in regulation. "Those two forwards could have picked Megan apart on the play," Shields said. "Megan stayed patient, read the play and then made the tackle at just right the time. They could have scored on that play very easily."
The Whitman women continue NWC play this weekend in hosting Willamette on Saturday and Linfield on Sunday. Both games start at noon at the new Whitman athletic fields near DeSales High School.
The Whitman women's soccer team held mighty Willamette scoreless for the first 60 minutes of play, but the Bearcats found the net four times over the final 30 minutes to post a 4-0 Northwest Conference victory Saturday afternoon in Walla Walla.
Willamette, which began the week with a No. 4 national ranking in NCAA Div. III, improved to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in the NWC. The loss was the first of the season for the Missionaries, who dropped to 5-1 and 1-1.
The Missionaries succeeded in shutting down Buffy Morris, Willamette's primary scoring threat, but sophomore Anne Merten scored in the 62nd minute and again at the 76:36 mark to swing the game in favor of the Bearcats. Senior Ashley Holmer tacked on two more Willamette goals in the final eight minutes of play.
"It was a great game for the first 70 minutes or so," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Once they got that second goal, though, you could tell it took a lot out of our side."
"We had some decent scoring opportunities in the first half," Shields said. "We played well, and we were solid defensively. But Willamette is a very good team, and they always have a lot of offense. Once they scored and picked up some momentum, they ran away with the game there at the end."
The Bearcat women advanced as far as the national quarterfinals last fall before finishing with a 19-3-1 record. They have won seven of the last eight NWC titles.
Willamette outshot Whitman 12-4, which included a 6-1 advantage in the second half. Missionary keeper Rena Parcells collected six saves.
Ninety minutes of women's soccer came down to one play Sunday as visiting Linfield escaped with 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over Whitman. Senior Meaghan Whalen made the big play for Linfield, taking a pass from freshman Erica Crossman and scoring in the eighth minute of the second half.
"Sometimes that's all it takes," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "One player makes a great play, and that was a great shot. She put the ball in the upper corner at the far post. That's tough to stop for any goalkeeper."
The victory gives Linfield a 2-1 record in the NWC and a 5-2 mark overall. Whitman finished the weekend with the same season record but saw their conference stock fall to 1-2.
"We played a good game, but so did Linfield," Shields said. "They are very dangerous on offense with a lot of speed. They also played well defensively, smart and patient."
The Wildcats outshot Whitman 10-7 on the day. Whitman keeper Rena Parcells made six saves, two more than Linfield goalie Jessica Gabbert.
After just missing a win in regulation, the Whitman women's soccer team dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Pacific Lutheran Saturday afternoon in Tacoma. Heidi Lyman scored the winning goal with 48 seconds remaining in a second overtime session to seal the Lute victory. Had the game clock expired in the second overtime, the game would have ended as a tie.
The Missionaries fell to 1-3 in the Northwest Conference, 5-3 overall, while PLU raised its record to 2-2 in the NWC and 2-4-1 on the season.
Whitman coach Scott Shields was disappointed with the loss, noting that a suspect call by one of the officials helped the Lutes tie the score near the end of regulation. "It was a disheartening way to end a good soccer game," Shields said.
Despite the loss, there were many upsides to the game, Shields said. "PLU is a strong, athletic team, and their goalkeeper (Kim Bosley) is outstanding. But Whitman has made some huge strides from a year ago. It was fun to see us compete."
After the Lutes took an early lead late in the first half, Whitman turned the tables after intermission, scoring twice to take the lead. Freshman Katey Schmitz put a ball through the hands of Lute keeper Bosley to knot the score at 1-all at the 50:26 mark. The goal, the third of the season for Schmitz, was set up by Erin Bray's sixth assist of the season.
Later in the half, sophomore Sara Weihmann booted a shot into the upper corner of the net from 35 yards out to give Whitman a short-lived lead with 15 minutes to play in regulation.
PLU's Laura Stewart tied the game at the 82:00 mark on a penalty kick. Stewart was awarded the shot on goal after Whitman defender Lindsay Gore was cautioned with a yellow card.
After nearly two overtime periods of scoreless soccer, Leah Anderson found a wide-open Lyman for the winning goal at 119:12.
Whitman keeper Rena Parcells went the distance in goal and was credited with eight saves. The Missionaries outshot PLU 22-18.
The Missionaries complete their weekend when play a noon game Sunday at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma.
The Puget Sound women's soccer team proved its might Sunday afternoon in Tacoma, downing Whitman 2-0 in Northwest Conference action.
The Logger women improved to 5-0 in the NWC, 8-1 overall. It was the second loss of the weekend for Whitman, now 1-4 in conference and 5-4 on the season.
Puget Sound scored its first goal late in the first half when Dusty Marcell bent her corner kick inside the far post. Tera Anderson added a goal at the 56:04 mark of the second half to complete the scoring.
The Loggers outshot Whitman 21-2, but the game was never out of hand, thanks to Missionary goalkeepers Rena Parcells and Amy Cheney. Parcells stopped both of the shots on goal she faced in 37 minutes of duty. After Parcells left the game with a dislocated finger, Cheney tallied a save of her own.
"We played a pretty good game against a very good Logger soccer team," Shields said. "I think we were emotionally spent after yesterday's loss (in double overtime), but we fought well."
Whitman's defense suffered another blow when Megan Mackenzie was injured in the second half. "The injuries didn't help us today, but we did have some people play well," Shields said. "Our defense had good containment throughout the game, anchored by Meghan Bowen, and Sara Weihmann was solid, as well. I think we can recuperate this week and play well on our home turf this coming weekend."
Whitman hosts Pacific and George Fox this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6-7. Both games start at noon.
Missing a pair of key players, the Whitman women's soccer team lost a Northwest Conference soccer match to Pacific University, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The loss drops Whitman to .500 on the season at 5-5 overall, 1-5 in the NWC. For Pacific, it was the second conference win of the season, as the Boxers are now 2-4 in the NWC, 3-6 overall.
Missionary coach Scott Shields was impressed with his team, but disappointed with the loss. "We outplayed them; we outshot them -- and they won," Shields said. "Sometimes the better team doesn't always win in soccer," he said. "But that's just the nature of the beast."
After the Boxers Stacy Amano put Pacific ahead at the 12:19 mark in the first half, Whitman bounced back with a pair of goals. Julia Makowski scored on an assist from Sara Weihmann at the 27:33 mark, then Katey Schmitz booted in her fourth goal of her rookie campaign at the 38:44 mark in the period. Makowski was credited with the assist to Schmitz.
The momentum quickly shifted in favor of the Boxers in the second period, as Abby Hunt knotted the game at 2-2 just three minutes into the final frame. Moani Lau then scored the decisive goal at the 67:49 mark, as Amano assisted to beat the defense for an easy score.
The Missionaries played without team co-captain Megan Mackenzie, as well as second-year goalkeeper Rena Parcells, as both recover from injuries sustained last week. "We missed the presence of Rena and Megan today," Shields said. "I know that hurt us. But we still played a good game. Our defense did well to contain them, and Sara Weihmann had an outstanding game at midfield."
Whitman's keeper, Amy Cheney, tallied seven saves in goal, while Pacific's Leslie Renier registered 11 stops. The Missionaries outshot Pacific, 30-20. Whitman hosts George Fox Sunday at noon.
With Liz Davis and Sara Weihmann each scoring a goal and dealing an assist, the Whitman women's soccer team rolled to a 4-1 Northwest Conference victory over George Fox Sunday afternoon in Walla Walla.
The Missionaries improved to 6-5 on the season, 2-5 in the NWC. The Bruins fell to 4-7 overall and 1-6 in conference play.
Weihmann opened the scoring in the 11th minute of play with a blast from 35 yards out. "Sara moved from outside to center- midfield this weekend because of the injury to Megan Mackenzie, and she did a great job," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Her goal was just a nice, hard shot, and she has the ability to do that."
George Fox evened the score when Mindy Venable, assisted by Sara Oates, scored at the 17:50 mark.
The Missionaries regained the lead when freshman defender Kim Boese scored her first collegiate goal in the 29th minute, following a Whitman corner kick and the ensuing melee. "Kim crashed the goal at just right the time," Shields said. Weihmann got the assist on the play.
Two minutes later, freshman Katey Schmitz took a pass from senior Liz Davis to give the Missionaries a 3-1 cushion. It was the fifth goal of the season for Schmitz, making her the team-leader, in front of sophomore Katilin Varady (4).
"Because of some of the injuries we've had, we moved Kaitlin from forward to outside-midfield, and she responded well," Shields said. "That's a very exhausting position to play, but Kaitlin did a good job."
Davis, Whitman's only senior, completed the scoring with a goal with ten minutes left in the second half. Freshman Micah Pepper had the assist.
"It's not easy for Liz being the only senior on the team," Shields said. "She's had a history of coming on strong during the second half of the season, and we started to see that again today. She's probably the fastest player we have over the first five or 10 yards of play."
Individual conditioning and a strong bench played a central role to the victory, Shields said. "Other teams stay with us for the first 10 or 15 minutes on our field, but the longer the game goes, the stronger we get. And even though we cleared our bench as the game continued, I don't think we lost a step."
The Missionaries outshot the Bruins 35 to 11, which included a 14-4 edge in shots on goal. George Fox goalie Cori Wulf made seven saves on the day. Freshman Amy Cheney, subbing for injured Rena Parcells, collected three saves in the first half. Jenny Spears, also a freshman, played the second half in goal for Whitman.
Apart from giving away a goal in the first half, the Whitman women's soccer team played one of its best games of the season Saturday afternoon in a 2-0 loss to nationally-ranked Puget Sound.
The visiting Loggers, ranked No. 5 this week in NCAA Div. III, capitalized on a Missionary defensive mistake to score their first goal at 27:33 of the first half. One of the Whitman defenders mishit a pass to goalkeeper Rena Parcells, allowing Puget Sound's Erin Honda to tap the ball into an unguarded net.
That was it for the scoring until the Loggers broke the tension with an insurance goal with less than 14 minutes left to play in the second half. Tera Anderson scored that goal, playing off Dusty Marcell's well-placed corner kick.
"Our players were pleased with how we played, and so was I," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "It was a battle, back and forth, the whole way. As far as playing together as a team, it was the best game we've played this season."
Unlike this fall's first meeting between the two teams, which Puget Sound also won 2-0, Whitman managed to generate some offense of its own. "We took 13 shots compared to just two at their place," Shields said. "We had a few good chances to score."
The Loggers retained their hold on first place in the Northwest Conference, improving to 8-0. Puget Sound is 11-1 on the season.
Whitman dropped to 2-6 in conference and 6-6 overall.
"Puget Sound has to be best team in the conference," Shields said. "For one thing, they are very deep. They go five or six players into their bench and skip a beat. They have a lot of speed on their attack, and their defense is very well organized and hard to break down. They have the complete package."
The Whitman women's soccer team scored twice in the first six minutes of play and held off Pacific Lutheran in the second half to post a 2-1 Northwest Conference victory Sunday afternoon in Walla Walla.
Liz Davis, Whitman's only senior, celebrated her final home game by scoring at the 5:33 mark of the first half to give the Missionaries a lightening-quick 2-0 lead. Her goal became the game-winning play when Abby Buck booted PLU's only goal with just under 20 minutes remaining in the second half.
The early score by Davis was assisted by sophomore Kaitlin Varady, who had triggerd Whitman's blitzkrieg with a goal at the 3:09 mark of the first half. That goal was assisted by junior Jana Seaman.
With the victory, Whitman improved to 3-6 in the NWC and 7-6 on the season. The Lutes dropped to 2-7 in conference and 2-10-1 overall.
The victory also evened Whitman's season slate with the Lutes, who had rallied from a 2-1 deficit early in the season for a 3-2 overtime triumph in Tacoma.
"It was great to get off to such a great start," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "This was the last home game of the season for us, and the final home game ever for a couple of the players, so it made it easier for us to get fired up."
Despite the early lead, the Lutes "never quit," Shields said. "We never really felt comfortable out there, even when we were up 2-0 at halftime. We knew they had caught us last time, and when they scored their goal in the second half, there was still plenty of time left on the clock."
Whitman outshot PLU 29-10, which included a 12-6 edge in shots on goal. Kim Bosley made 10 saves in goal for the Lutes, while Rena Parcells, playing her second game of the weekend after returning from injury, stopped five shots for the Missionaries.
"It was great to have Rena back in goal," Shields said. "She was solid the whole way and kept us in the lead. Their one goal was just a great shot, but she stopped everything else."
With her goal and assist, Varady moved past Katey Schmitz for the team scoring lead. Both players have five goals on the season, but Varady has the one assist.
Sunday's game also was the final home appearance for junior Megan Mackenzie, who will study off campus next year as part of Whitman's 3-2 engineering program.
Inching closer to a .500 record in the Northwest Conference, the Whitman women's soccer team shut out Whitworth 2-0 in Spokane Wednesday afternoon.
Posting its third victory in four games, Whitman improved to 4-6 in the NWC and 8-6 overall. The Missionaries also pulled into a fourth-place conference tie with the Pirates, who saw their season record fall to 6-8.
It took the Missionaries nearly 75 minutes to finally dent the scoreboard. Erin Bray passed ahead to Julia Makowski, who quickly distanced herself from a Pirate defender and scored from point-blank range. It was Bray's seventh assist of the season, the second highest total in the conference.
With Whitman up 1-0 and time running out, Whitworth pulled goalkeeper Tricia Buck in favor of a player who divided her efforts between the goal and playing in the field. The tactic helped the Pirates outshoot Whitman 9-0 over the next 12 minutes, but Missionary keeper Rena Parcells made five of her 10 saves during that span to keep her shutout intact.
Whitworth's strategy finally backfired when Parcells, after her final save, lofted a long kick toward the midfield. Makowski beat Whitworth's part-time keeper to the ball and rolled it more than 30 yards into an unprotected net. The score came with just under four minutes remaining.
"Whitworth had most of their players pressed forward, trying to get that tying goal," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "They were really in our face for several minutes. Once Rena got off the long kick and Julia got to the ball first, it was all over. `Hit it if you get it,' is what we had told our players, and that's what Julia did. It was kind of a long, strange goal."
The two goals were Makowski's third and fourth of the season. As a team, the Missionaries have scored 28 goals this fall, 22 more than all of last season.
"Except for Julia's goals, it was a very even game," Shields said. "Whitworth played a very good game, but our players had a great game, too. We're playing well right now."
On top of her first career assist, Parcells recorded her third shutout of the season.
Thanks to their late flurry of shots, the Pirates outshot Whitman 19-12. It wasn't enough, however, to keep the Missionaries from sealing the victory and a season sweep of their eastern Washington rivals. Whitman downed the Pirates 2-1 in overtime last month in Walla Walla.
Whitman continues its NWC tour this weekend in western Oregon, playing at Linfield and Willamette on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Linfield (10-4, 7-3 NWC) is in third place in the conference, while Willamette (11-1, 9-1 NWC) occupies second.
Maybe the team bus breaking down en route to the Portland Friday night was a bad omen for the Whitman women's soccer team. The Missionaries suffered its worst defeat of the season, 5-0, thanks to a determined Linfield Wildcat squad Saturday afternoon in McMinnville.
The loss drops the Missionaries record to 8-7 overall, 4-7 in the NWC. Linfield, the third place team in the conference is now 11-4 overall, 8-3 in the NWC. It was the second time this season the Wildcats got the better of Whitman; earlier in the year Linfield snubbed the Missionaries 1-0 in Walla Walla.
Whitman coach Scott Shields was disappointed with his team, but noted Linfield played well. "I think this is the worst we've played all season,” he said. "But Linfield deserves credit. It was their Homecoming and they just took it to us."
Linfield scored what proved to be the game-winner less than 30 seconds into the contest on a penalty kick. A Whitman defender was whistled for tripping inside the box that led to the quick score. The Wildcats struck once more in the opening minutes before Whitman settled down for a while.
"Right now, we're just trying to regroup for tomorrow and get some rest tonight," Shields said.
In a twist of fate the team bus, carrying both the men's and women's teams, broke down Friday night on the way to Portland. "We were stranded at a rest stop for about an hour and a half yesterday," Shields said. The teams eventually made it to the hotel, but not before a long day on the road got them in sometime after midnight.
Whitman travels to Salem Sunday at noon to take on the 12-1 (10-1 NWC) Bearcats. Willamette won the first meeting this year, 4-0 in Walla Walla.
Up against considerable odds, the Whitman women's soccer team fell to Willamette 3-1 Sunday afternoon in Northwest Conference soccer action at Sparks Field in Salem.
The 13-1 Bearcats (11-1 NWC) have not lost a home match in 50 games, dating back to Sept. 24, 1997. Whitman is now .500 on the season at 8-8, 4-8 in the NWC.
The Bearcats got on the board first with a pair of first half goals, the first coming at the 25:37 mark and the second at 39:39. Whitman struck early in the second period with a goal of its own. At the 52:21 checkpoint in the contest, Jana Seaman scored an unassisted goal, giving the Missionaries some momentum.
Whitman coach Scott Shields echoed these thoughts. "Willamette has a very good, very aggressive team," he said. "They took advantage of a couple opportunities to go ahead in the first half, but we pretty much controlled that period."
After the Missionary score, Shields seemed upbeat. "We bounced back really well after yesterday's game, and I thought the team played with a lot of energy," Shields said. "I don't think the score was indicative of the game we played."
Rena Parcells went the distance in the Whitman goal, recording seven saves. "No doubt Rena kept us in the game today," Shields said. "She just made a couple phenomenal first half saves to keep it close."
Willamette tallied the final points of the game with just under six minutes to play to seal the victory.
Junior Megan Mackenzie lofted a goal into the net from 20 yards out to give the Whitman women's soccer team a 1-0 Northwest Conference victory at George Fox Friday afternoon in Newberg, Ore.
With the victory, the Missionaries climbed above the .500 mark on the season, improving to 9-8 overall and 5-8 in the NWC. The Bruins dropped 4-13 on the season and 1-12 in conference.
Whitman can nail down fourth place in the final NWC standings by beating Pacific in Saturday's season finale. Whitworth, which tied Pacific on Friday, takes a 4-8-1 NWC record into its last game Saturday at George Fox.
"We'll be looking to solidify our hold on fourth place with a victory at Pacific, but it won't be easy," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "They beat us 3-2 last time, and this time we go to their place."
In Friday's win over George Fox, Whitman outshot the Bruins 26-9, which included a 13-3 edge in shots on goal. The Missionaries also had a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The game was scoreless until well into the second half. Taking a pass from freshman Nanette Langston, Mackenzie booted her game-winning shot from the left wing. The shot settled into the upper right corner of the net with just under 13 minutes to play. It was Mackenzie's second goal of the season, and Langston's second assist.
"It was a great shot by Megan and a nice assist from Nanette," Shields said. "Nanette has been playing really well lately."
Meanwhile, Whitman sophomore Rena Parcells made three saves in goal to notch her fourth shutout of the season. "It was another good performance in goal for Rena," Shields said. "She was never really tested too much, although she had to come out a few times to make a play on high balls. Other than that, she didn't have to make saves on any really dangerous shots."
The Whitman women's soccer team wrapped up its season in the pouring rain Saturday with a 4-4 overtime tie at Pacific in Forest Grove, Ore.
The Missionaries finished with a winning record on the season at 9-8-1. Saturday's tie left Whitman with a 5-8-1 record in the Northwest Conference, good enough for a fourth-place tie with Whitworth in the final standings.
"It was an awesome game in the rain, very exciting, with both teams going back and forth," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "They scored twice in the first five or six minutes of the game, but we came back to score three straight goals for a 3-2 lead at halftime."
Pacific bounced back with two more goals early in the second half to reclaim the lead at 4-3. With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Whitman's Megan Mackenzie scored (unassisted) to send the game to overtime.
"It was a great way for Megan to end her college career, with a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation," Shields said. "She's been a very good player for us."
"Both sides had opportunities to score in overtime, but no one did, obviously," Shields said. "We would have loved to have won, but we'll take the tie. It was a good way to end what's been a good season for us. A winning season is always great, and we did pretty well in conference."
Nanette Langston, a freshman, booted Whitman's first goal with an assist from Sara Weihmann. Katey Schmitz, also a first-year player, kicked the next two goals, both of which were unassisted. Schmitz finished the season with a team-high seven goals.
Whitman outshot Pacific 34-23 during the 120 minutes of regulation and overtime play. Those numbers included a 27-13 Missionary edge in shots on goal. Whitman outshot its hosts 9-2 during overtime.
Missionary goalkeeper Rena Parcells finished with nine saves.
Whitman's season marked a dramatic reversal of fortunes from a year ago, when the Missionaries struggled to a 1-14-1 season. A total of 16 Whitman players dented the scoring column during the season with either a goal or an assist. On the season, the Missionaries outscored their opponents 34-32.