Scoring once off a corner kick and once off a penalty kick, Highline Community College posted a 2-0 exhibition game victory over the Whitman men's soccer team Friday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
"The result wasn't as important as the opportunity to assess all of our players in game-like situations," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We played three 30-minute periods, and we used three different formations in each period."
Despite the jumble of formations and player substitutions, the Missionaries produced several scoring chances, Washington said. "We had four or five one-on-one opportunities and just failed to convert."
"This exhibition gives us something to build on," Washington added. "It gives us a better idea of what areas need work. Before today, we've only had five days of practice together."
Whitman kicks off its regular season next weekend with three games in three days, starting Friday, Sept. 3, at Concordia. The Missionaries then host Northwest College at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, before traveling to Spokane on Sunday, Sept. 5, for a game against Lawrence University.
Two first-half goals were the difference as NAIA Div. I Concordia University slipped past the Whitman men’s soccer team 3-1 Friday evening in Portland, Ore. The Cavaliers, the two-time defending Cascade Conference champions, improved to 2-1 on the season while Whitman started its season with the loss.
The Missionaries battled Concordia to a scoreless standoff until junior Robert Lossert scored in the 27th minute of play. Senior Lucas Brooks added a second goal for the Cavaliers a few minutes before halftime.
Concordia extended its lead to 3-0 in the 65th minute of the second half. Whitman notched its goal three minutes later when sophomore Egan Brinkman found the back of the net, assisted by freshman Andy Huntington.
"Concordia is an outstanding team," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "They are one of the better teams we've seen."
The Cavaliers outshot Whitman 12-5. "We played with a lot more confidence in the second half," Washington said. "We defended quite well. Above all, we got stronger as the game went on. We looked our best toward the end."
Whitman returns home Saturday for a 2 p.m. game against Northwest University.
The Whitman men’s soccer team notched its first victory of the season Saturday afternoon, beating Northwest University 1-0 at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The game left both teams with early season records of 1-1.
Whitman dictated a physical style of play in the first half, picking up three yellow cards and 13 team fouls. After the teams traded shots on goal, the Missionaries capitalized on freshman forward Andy Huntington’s left-footed cross to senior co-captain Brad Bowen. With less than five minutes remaining before halftime, Bowen rocketed the ball past the Eagle goalkeeper to give Whitman a 1-0 lead.
The second half calmed down a bit, but the intensity was still high. Sophomore striker Egan Brinkman managed two shots on goal, but the Missionaries were unable to extend their lead. Fortunately for Whitman, senior goalkeeper Eric Dottarar recorded his first shutout of the young season. His six saves included a diving stop in the 88th minute that prevented Northwest from pulling even on the scoreboard.
“It was important for our team to find a way to win,” Whitman coach Mike Washington said. “Our defense shut them down in the second half. We’re glad to get the victory.”
Northwest outshot Whitman 11-10 and had a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.
Whitman plays its third game in three days on Sunday, traveling to Spokane, Wash., to play Lawrence University at 2 p.m. at Whitworth College.
Sophomore Egan Brinkman’s scoring shot from the right side to the far post gave the Whitman College men’s soccer team a 2-1 overtime victory over Lawrence University Sunday afternoon in a game played in Spokane, Wash.
Assisted by sophomore Kirk Thorson, Brinkman booted his second goal of the season at the 6:01 mark of overtime. “It was one of the nicest goals I’ve seen in a long time,” Whitman coach Mike Washington said.
The Missionaries, winning their second game in two days, improved to 2-1 on the season. Lawrence, an NCAA Div. III school in Appleton, Wisc., dropped to 0-2.
Both teams came out firing in the first half, taking 18 shots between them, seven of which warranted saves. “We felt a bit of pressure in the first 10-15 minutes of the game,” Whitman coach Mike Washington said. “Eric [Dottarar] kept us in it with a couple of fantastic saves.”
Whitman struck first in the 21st minute of play, notching the opening goal on a Brad Bowen ball played over the top to Craig Yuen who then shuffled it to Andy Huntington for the finish. Huntington, a freshman, now has one goal and two assists in his first three collegiate games.
Whitman played a strong second half, limiting Lawrence to five shots. The Vikings made the most of their few opportunities however, and finally managed to slip one by Dottarar in the 87th minute to send the game to overtime.
“I felt like we were really in control of the game, but they kept bringing guys up and applying pressure,” Washington said. “The goal almost seemed inevitable.”
After playing games on three consecutive days, Whitman gets some well deserved rest before its next contest. The Missionaries host Bethel College at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10, at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
In a wild game that produced five goals and five yellow cards, the Whitman men’s soccer team fell 4-1 to Bethel University Friday night at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The Missionaries dropped to 2-2 on the season, while the Royals improved to 3-0.
Whitman set the tone early, taking advantage of a Bethal offside trap with a steady stream of long balls to forwards Andy Huntington and Egan Brinkman. Huntington, a freshman, turned one of the attacks into his second goal of the season in the 13th minute, sending a Peter Randall cross straight to the back of the net.
Bethel fought back, however, and after squandering a penalty kick opportunity earlier in the half, converted a ricocheted ball in the box into a 1-1 deadlock with less than two minutes to play in the first half.
The intensity picked up in the second half, when the referee handed out five yellow cards, three to Whitman and two to Bethel. After 30 minutes of very physical play, which saw the Missionaries nearly score on at least two occasions, it was the Royals who got the deciding break. Whitman was called for a foul in the box in the 76th minute, and Abe Voyen cashed in the penalty kick to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
The penalty seemed to take the wind out of the Missionary sails. The Royals added a third goal with little more than 12 minutes left to play. The final score came with eight seconds remaining.
Whitman takes on cross-town rival Walla Walla Community College in an exhibition match to close out its non-conference schedule. The game is set for 7 p.m. Monday at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
The Whitman men’s soccer team opened its Northwest Conference season with a 3-1 victory over Pacific Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The win improves the Missionary season record to 3-2. Pacific fell 1-4 overall and 0-1 in conference.
After both teams traded early scoring chances, Whitman seized the first break of the game on a Ryan Porter free kick from midfield. The Boxer defense swarmed to the ball, but it fell at the feet of Brian Stater, a Missionary senior co-captain, who blasted it home in the 29th minute.
Pacific dominated possession for most of the half, outshooting the Missionaries 13-6, but it was Whitman that took a 1-0 lead into intermission.
The Boxers scored the equalizer early in the second half when Mark Madeira’s corner kick was headed into the net by senior Bobby Shinn.
Pacific continued to generate most of the game’s scoring opportunities, but Whitman grabbed a 2-1 lead in the 73rd minute when sophomore Kirk Thorson’s free kick led to senior Harris Esarey’s scoring header.
Nine minutes later from a similar spot on the field, Thorson bent another free kick toward the Pacific goal, which Porter headed past the Boxer keeper for the game’s final score. All three goals for the Missionaries came from defensive players. Each goal was also the first of the season for each player.
Both of Thorson’s assists were spectacular bending balls into the box. After the game Whitman coach Mike Washington joked, “It would have been hard not to score on those balls Kirk served up.”
Eric Dottarar, Whitman’s senior keeper, had a strong game in goal, collecting eight saves. Pacific keeper Chris Caswell made two saves.
Despite being out shot 24-11, and committing over twice as many fouls as Pacific (19, 8) Whitman managed to pull out the victory. “We’ve talked about winning some games ugly, and that’s what we did,” Washington said. “It was a great way to start the conference season.”
Whitman hosts George Fox in more NWC action at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Pacific plays Sunday at Whitworth.
Whitman and George Fox battled through 30 minutes of overtime, all to no avail, as the two teams finally settled for a 1-1 tie in Northwest Conference men's soccer action Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields. Whitman finished its first weekend of NWC play with records of 1-0-1 in conference and 3-2-1 on the season. George Fox is 1-4-2 overall and 0-1-1 in conference.
After a scoreless first half, Whitman wasted little time denting the scoreboard after intermission. Freshman Andy Huntington provided the heroics, stealing a ball 10 yards outside the center box and nailing an unassisted goal with less than two minutes gone from the second-half clock.
Huntington now has three goals and two assists in his first six collegiate games.
The game swung back and forth for the remainder of the second half, with goalkeepers Kyle Putnam (George Fox) and Eric Dottarar (Whitman) making six saves between them. George Fox pulled even in the 79th minute of play, however, when sophomore Brian Zaro converted a 25-yard direct free kick. A lunging Dottarar barely missed saving the ball as it sailed over his outstretched hands into the upper right corner of the net.
Neither team scored again during regulation play, forcing overtime. The two sides battled through two scoreless 15-minute overtime sessions, resulting in the tie.
"It was a tough game for us, but we'd definitely rather take the tie than a loss," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We played strong defensively, but we struggled in the midfield today. I don't think we came out with the confidence that we did in our win yesterday."
The road was rocky, so to speak, and so was the field, as the Whitman men’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 Northwest Conference decision to Willamette Saturday afternoon in Salem, Oregon.
But despite the tie, which left Whitman with a 1-1-1 record in NWC play, the Missionaries head into Sunday's games in a three-way tie for second place in the early season standings. Whitman is 3-3-1 overall, while Willamette is now 1-2 in conference and 1-4-2 on the season.
"Willamette was supposed to have a new field this year, but it didn't materialize as expected," Washington said. "So, they've been practicing and playing on the old field. It was hard, bumpy and uneven. The ball doesn't bounce true."
Washington said Willamette compensated for the field by "playing a lot of long balls down the field. They played more in the air than they did on the ground. They have a couple of big forwards, and the way they played was very effective for them. They had a better game plan than we did."
In contrast, Whitman "really struggled trying to play on that field," Washington said. "We weren't able to pass the ball around as we normally do."
Willamette picked up its first goal with less than five minutes remaining in the first half. Matthew Lehman headed home the goal, scoring off Willamette's sixth corner of the half. The two sides combined to commit 20 fouls in the opening 45 minutes, setting the tone for an even tougher second half, when an additional 24 fouls were whistled.
Down a goal, Whitman was unable to muster much offense in the second half, managing just three shots. Willamette added its second goal in the 89th minute to put the game out of reach.
Whitman avoided the shutout, however, when sophomore Dan Beekman notched his first goal of the season, scoring off a free kick from sophomore Sam Morris-Rosenfeld with just 20 seconds left on the clock. Beekman picked the ball out of the air with the side of his foot, knocking his shot into the corner of the net.
“Dan played most of the second half and did a great job for us,” Washington said.
Whitman keeper Eric Dottarar made five saves in goal.
Whitman travels to McMinnville, Ore., on Sunday to face Linfield, one of the teams tied with the Missionaries for second place.
The Northwest Conference season is still young, but the Whitman men’s soccer team jumped into sole possession of second place with a 2-0 victory at Linfield Sunday afternoon in McMinnville, Ore.
With records of 2-1-1 in the NWC and 4-3-1 overall, Whitman trails only Whitworth in the conference standings. The Pirates are 4-0 in the NWC and 7-1 on the season. Linfield finished its weekend with records of 2-6-1 overall and 1-2-1 in conference.
Sophomore Hunter Benedict, playing his first season of collegiate soccer, scored his first college goal to give the Missionaries a 1-0 lead at the 37:04 mark of the first half. Benedict scored when Linfield goalie Taylor Fowles got tangled up with a teammate, allowing Benedict a clean shot at the open net.
Midway through the second half, the Missionaries netted their second goal of the game as a free kick unfolded. Junior Peter Randall and freshman Andy Huntington got the assists, setting up junior defender Ryan Porter for his second goal of the season.
The Wildcats outshot the Missionaries 16-7 but were never able to capitalize on their opportunities. Whitman goalkeeper Eric Dottarar stopped six shots on goal to record his second shutout of the season.
“We had a great game defensively and a great overall team performance,” Whitman coach Mike Washington said. “Although Linfield had lots of shots, our pressure forced many of them to go wide or over the net. There’s not a player who didn’t work hard for us today.”
Whitman continues NWC play next Saturday and Sunday when its hosts Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound at the Whitman Athletic Fields. Puget Sound (2-1) and Pacific Lutheran (1-1-1) are right behind Whitman in the jumbled NWC standings.