WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Whitman College men's soccer team is off to a good start on its exhibition tour of England, winning its first match and battling a second opponent to a tie.
Led by head coach Mike Washington, a native of England, Whitman flew to the Bristol area on Aug. 1 and played its first game two days later, edging Bridgwater Town by a 1-0 margin.
Cole Sherman, a senior defender from Boise, Idaho, capitalized on a goalmouth scramble following a corner kick to boot the game's only goal. Simon Quay, a sophomore from Seattle, Wash., took the corner kick and was credited with the assist.
"Players had to cope with high winds that persisted throughout the game," Washington said. "We were in control and created many good scoring opportunities. It was a good game to get under our belt. It was a good performance, but the game lacked much in the way of rhythem."
In its second game, Whitman battled Dorchester Town to a 1-1 deadlock on Aug. 5. Stephen Phillips, a sophomore from Sandy, Utah, scored a first-half goal to give Whitman the early lead. His older brother Greg Phillips, also a sophomore at Whitman, assisted on the play.
Dorchester salvaged a tie late in the match on a free kick from the right side. "Dorchester is a strong side that tackled hard from the first whistle," Washington said. "They did not allow us any time on the ball, and we had to adjust by playing quicker and by increasing movement on the ball."
While the game ended in a draw, Washington said, "We dominated the match and pinned Dorchester in its half for much of the game. Several Whitman players stood out in their play. Jay Davidson (a junior from Kirkland, Wash.) played well on the right side, and Max Weber (a junior from Great Falls, Mont.) was solid as a holding midfielder."
Whitman plays three games over the several days, starting this evening (Aug. 7) against the Paulton Rovers. A game at Bath City is set for Aug. 9, followed by an Aug. 11 date with Bristol City. Whitman's exhibition games are noted on websites maintained by the Paulton and Bath City football clubs.
English football clubs sponsor several soccer teams for players ranging in age from youth through the adult professional ranks. Whitman is playing teams with players ranging in age from 16 through the early 20s.
Whitman caps its English road trip with an Aug. 14 trip to the storied Manchester United Football Club. Manchester United and its 76,000-seat stadium, Old Trafford, are the English equivalents of the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium. Washington, who turns 57 in November, still gets “goose bumps” when he visits the Manchester grounds, which include a club museum and an expansive memorabilia store stocked with millions of pounds of soccer merchandise.
Weston-super-Mare, a seaside resort town 18 miles southwest of Bristol, is serving as home base for the Whitman team during its stay in England.
Whitman begins its official fall workouts on Sunday, Aug. 20, and plays its first scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 25, hosting Albertson College at 7 p.m.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information,
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu