Despite wholesale line-up changes made at halftime, the Whitman men's soccer team battled Albertson to a 0-0 tie Friday night at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The game was a scrimmage for Whitman, which won't count the outcome and statistics as part of its NCAA Division III record.
For Albertson, an NAIA-affiliated school, the game served as its regular-season opener.
"Because this was a scrimmage for us, we wanted to play as many of our guys as possible," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We basically split our roster into two teams and changed at halftime. It gave us a chance to play two different line-ups and two different formations."
The only Whitman players to log a full game for Whitman were senior defender Cole Sherman and sophomore goalkeeper Brett Axelrod. "Brett went all the way in goal and played tremendously well," Washington said. "He made a number of saves in one-on-one situations. Cole also played a great game and helped stabilize the defense for us."
Albertson put nine shots on goal, three more than Whitman. Axelrod was credited with eight saves, while Albertson senior Rob Erichson made six saves. "It was a battle of goalkeepers," Washington said. "It wasn't a game with a lot of scoring opportunities, but both sides had their chances."
Whitman sophomore Stephen Phillips came up empty on a pair of scoring attempts in the first half. Phillips and junior Andy Huntington, another of Whitman's primary scoring threats, did not play after intermission.
Brett Rawson, a Whitman senior, just missed a goal in the second half, lofting a shot over the Albertson keeper that bounced off the crossbar. Late in the game, Missionary junior Jesus Reyes nearly slipped a shot inside the right corner.
"Depth should be one of our strong points this season," Washington said. "We probably can go 22 players deep. Our depth was limited to 14 or 15 players in recent years, and that wasn't enough."
Mitch White, a senior, fired off six shots -- three on goal -- to pace Albertson, which made just three substitutions during the course of the game. White has the talent to "play at the NCAA Division I level," Washington said.
"It was a good scrimmage for us," Washington said. "We played well under pressure, especially in the first half, and we were also able to put the other side under a good deal of pressure."
In a contest far more lopsided than the final score indicates, the Whitman men's soccer team downed Columbia Basin College 3-1 in a Friday evening scrimmage at the Whitman Athletic Fields. Because Columbia Basin is a two-year school, the game and its statistics do not count on Whitman's NCAA Division III record.
The Missionaries maintained ball control throughout the game, outshooting the Hawks 32-6, which included an 18-4 edge in shots on goal. Junior Andy Huntington took eight shots, four on goal, to pace the Whitman attack.
"I was more impressed with the way we played in the first half," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We played with good rhythm and good ball movement. They changed their style of play at halftime, and it took us a little while to adjust."
Whitman outshot the Hawks 18-1 in the opening 45 minutes. Washington substituted liberally in the second stanza, eventually sending a total of 20 players onto the pitch.
"We probably should have scored more goals than we did, but their keepers made some very good saves," Washington said. Columbia Basin's Oscar Borunda and Frankie Tinajaro split time in goal, finishing with 14 saves between them.
Sophomore Stephen Phillips booted the first Missionary goal in the 22nd minute of play, knocking in the rebound after a shot from junior Jesus Reyes skipped off Borunda's hands. Twelve minutes into the second half, just a few minutes after entering the game, sophomore Joe Johnson made it 2-0 Whitman with an assist from senior Dan Beekman.
Columbia Basin slipped back into the game with 16 minutes left to play, when Jose Guzman took a pass from Miguel Silva and scored. Freshman Jasper Lipton wrapped up the scoring for Whitman with seven minutes remaining, scoring with assists from Reyes and junior defender Craig Yuen.
"I thought Craig played especially well," Washington said. "He's our man of the match tonight."
Whitman plays its third scrimmage of the young season when it hosts Clark College at noon Sunday. The Missionaries then play their first official game when they travel to Nampa, Idaho, on Saturday, Sept. 9, to play Albertson College.
Running roughshod over a community college opponent for the second time in three days, the Whitman men's soccer team blitzed Clark College of Vancouver, Wash., by a 6-2 margin in a Sunday afternoon scrimmage at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Sophomore Stephen Phillips scored the first two Missionary goals, giving the home team a 2-0 lead 19 minutes into the match. Sophomore Marc Nabelek, who assisted on the second Phillips goal, added an unassisted strike in the 38th minute to give the Missionaries a 3-1 lead at halftime.
Jesus Reyes, a junior transfer from Walla Walla Community College, stepped to the fore in the second half, scoring on a penalty kick and assisting on two other Whitman goals. Senior John Rue and junior Andy Huntington also had second-half goals for the victors.
"I was very pleased with the way we knocked the ball around and kept possession," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We wanted to play quickly and work on our passing, and we did those things. We were able to get some nice goals."
Whitman outshot Clark 29-8, which included a 12-5 edge in shots on goal. The count on corner kicks favored the Missionaries 12-0.
Washington also was pleased to see his team make a better defensive response to the opposition's use of long-ball tactics in its attack. "Based on what happened in Friday night's scrimmage, that was something we needed to work on," Washington said.
As was the case Friday, Washington got a look at most of his roster, sending 20 players into the game. With some of its players not yet eligible, Clark was short-handed and used just one substitute. "We had the advantage, but it was still a game that had to be won, and we played well," Washington said.
Sophomore James Millikan went the distance in goal for Whitman, making three saves.
After winning back-to-back scrimmages, Whitman travels to Nampa, Idaho, next Saturday to play Albertson, an NAIA school, in its first official game. Whitman and Albertson played a late August scrimmage that ended in a 0-0 tie.
"Playing Albertson again will give us a chance to see how far we've progressed in the first few weeks," Washington said. "For us, it will be more of a play-to-win situation."
Playing tough defense and capitalizing on the opposition's own goal, the Whitman men's soccer team won its season opener 1-0 Saturday morning at Albertson College in Caldwell, Idaho.
Whitman sophomore goalie Brett Alexrod, who shut out Albertson in a scrimmage in late August, repeated that feat Saturday when it counted, collecting five saves.
"We played well at the defensive end with Egan Brinkman, Craig Yuen, John Rue and Cole Sherman leading the way," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "Albertson put us under a lot of pressure, but we didn't allow them any clear-cut shots on goal."
The Yotes outshot Whitman 17-8, although the two sides were dead even in terms of shots on goal with five apiece. The game's only score came in the sixth minute of play, when Andy Huntington sent a ball to the front of Albertson goal, where it kicked off a defender into the net.
Huntington, a Missionary sophomore, left the game late in the first half with a concussion. "Andy and one of the Albertson players hit head-to-head, and then Andy set out the rest of the game," Washington said. The Albertson player appeared to get the worst of the collision, Washington said, and was carried off the field.
"Overall, it was a good game for us, front to back," Washington said. "We played well against a very good team. We had a couple of break-away opportunities in the second half, but we wern't able to get a second goal. Today's positive is that we're playing well as a team."
Whitman hosts North Idaho College, a two-year school, in a non-counting game at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The Missionaries then complete their non-conference slate when they welcome St. Martin's to Walla Walla at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
In a game in which neither side generated many scoring opportunities, North Idaho College scored off a goal-mouth scramble with less than 20 minutes remaining to hand Whitman a 1-0 loss Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
The game does not count toward Whitman's NCAA record and statistics because NIC is a two-year college.
"North Idaho beat Whitworth 1-0 (earlier this season), so we knew we'd be facing a good team," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "They have some good players."
With afternoon temperatures on the warm side, tempers flared and play turned physical at times. North Idaho was handed three yellow cards, while Whitman received one yellow and one red. Whitman's Max Weber picked up the red and was ejected after a brief melee erupted when a Missionary player was knocked to the ground on a foul. "It's one of those situations where our player goes in to break up a potential fight and he gets carded," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "The (NIC) player who started the whole thing gets nothing."
Playing a man short the rest of the way, Whitman was outshot nine to five in the second half. The Missionaries held a 6-4 edge in shots in the opening half. Both teams had four shots on goal for the game.
Sophomore Pat Sullivan knocked in a rebound shot to tally the game-winning goal for North Idaho. Freshman Blake Hayashi assisted on the score.
Brett Rawson, Jesus Reyes, Stephen Phillips and Marc Nabelek had shots on goal for Whitman. Andy Huntington, Whitman's leading scorer the past two seasons, missed the game after suffering a concussion in Saturday's victory at Albertson.
Whitman plays its final non-conference game at 7 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts St. Martin's at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The Missionaries stay home next weekend, opening Northwest Conference play against Willamette and George Fox. Both of those games start at 2:30 p.m.
Freshman Jasper Lipton scored a pair of second-half goals to power the Whitman junior varsity to a 3-1 victory over Saint Martin's Tuesday night at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Saint Martin's, an NCAA Div. II member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, is in its first year of men's soccer. The Saints are competing this fall as a club team with plans to play as varsity program next year.
Saint Martin's took the early lead Tuesday when Seth Baker scored in the 39th minute of play. Patrick Olson got the assist.
Whitman evened the count early in the second half. Sophomore Greg Phillips knocked in a header, assisted by Max Weber. With just under 11 minutes left on the clock, Lipton picked up a deflected pass and chipped a ball over the keeper's head into the net. Lipton scored again five minutes later, heading in another pass Weber.
Whitman begins Northwest Conference play this weekend, hosting Willamette on Saturday and George Fox on Sunday. Both games start at 2:30 p.m.
Despite outshooting the opposition 22-8, the Whitman men's soccer team failed to find the back of the net and settled for a 0-0 overtime tie with Willamette Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields. It was the Northwest Conference opener for both schools.
"You look at the stats and we outplayed them quite convincingly," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We created a lot of opportunities that we failed to finish. We had trouble delivering that final pass that would have put us on track for a goal. It was one of those days where we could have been out there all day without getting a goal."
Whitman put five shots on goal, including two by sophomore Joe Johnson. Sophomore Stephen Phillips fired off six shots, one of them on goal.
"We played well and controlled the tempo for much of the game, but Willamette did a good job of defending their central zone," Washington said. "We needed to get around behind them and break them down, and we didn't do that."
Whitman did not allow a single shot on its goal during the 90 minutes of regulation play. Willamette sophomore Nick Forbes had his team's only shot on goal of the day in the first of two 10-minute overtime periods.
Brett Axelrod, Whitman's sophomore goalkeeper, made the one save in posting his second consecutive shutout to start the season. Axelrod also registered a shutout in Whitman's only non-conference game.
Mark Bennett, a freshman, got the shutout in goal for the Bearcats with four saves. Willamette's defense was also credited with a save.
whitman, now 1-0-1 on the season, hosts George Fox at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. George Fox lost its NWC opener 3-0 Saturday at Whitworth and brings a 4-1-1 season record to Walla Walla for tomorrow's game.
Willamette takes a 1-4-1 season record to Whitworth for a Sunday afternoon game in Spokane.
With sophomore Stephen Phillips booting a pair of goals and junior Andy Huntington adding one goal and one assist, the Whitman men's soccer team blitzed George Fox 4-1 Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
The Missionaries improved to 1-0-1 in Northwest Conference play. George Fox fell to 0-2 in the early conference standings.
Phillips gave Whitman a 1-0 lead with less that two minutes left in the first half, notching his first goal of the season with assists from both Huntington and senior John Rue. One minute into the second half, Huntington stole a pass in the midfield and beat the George Fox keeper for a 2-0 Missionary lead.
Phillips, assisted by sophomore Simon Quay, got his second goal of the game at the 63:37 mark of the second half. With less than four minutes to play, freshman Jasper Lipton made it 4-0 Whitman when he chipped his first college goal over the keeper's head. Senior Chris Dorough assisted on the play.
With less than two minutes remaining, George Fox averted the shutout when freshman Bret Hamilton scored after a shot by junior teammate Erich Hangartner bounced off Whitman keeper James Millikan. Millikan, a sophomore, finished with five saves.
Whitman outshot George Fox by a slim 14-12 margin, although it was the Bruins with a 6-5 edge in shots on goal.
The Missionaries, now 2-0-1 on the season, are on the road next weekend, playing at Pacific and Linfield.
Whitman scored first, but Pacific reeled off four unanswered goals en route to a 4-1 victory in Northwest Conference men's soccer action Saturday afternoon in Forest Grove, Ore.
It was Whitman's first loss of the young season, dropping the Missionaries to 1-1-1 in conference play and to 2-1-1 overall. Pacific is 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in the NWC.
"We gave the ball away way too much," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We couldn't hold the ball and they countered. They've got some good foot speed, which they used effectively. On the day, they just played a little better than we did."
Whitman sophomore Joe Johnson opened the scoring in the 17th minute of play, finding the right corner of the net after senior John Rue made a sideline run past two defenders.
Pacific senior Matt McDonough evened the score with a penalty kick in the 31st minute. McDonough scored again 11 minutes later to give the Boxers the lead for good.
The home team got some breathing room early in the second half. Assisted by McDonough, sophomore Danny Williams scored off a point-blank opportunity. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Williams scored again to complete the scoring.
Whitman outshot Pacific 14-11, but the Boxers put all 11 of their shots on goal. The Missionaries had eight shots on goal.
Whitman was called for 18 fouls in the game, three times as many as Pacific. Foul calls in the first half were 13-2 against the visitors. "The fouls disrupted the rhythm of the game a little bit, and we let the referee become a little bit of a factor," Washington said. "But that wasn't what cost us the game."
Whitman plays Sunday at Linfield in McMinnville, Ore.
Bouncing back from a disappointing loss on Saturday, the Whitman men's soccer team battled Linfield to a 1-1 overtime tie Sunday afternoon in McMinnville, Ore.
"We played so much better than we did yesterday, and Linfield is one of the top teams in the conference," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "Our kids worked and battled very, very hard. Everyone played their guts out, and that's all we can ask."
Whitman took the early lead when sophomore Stephen Phillips, assisted by older brother Greg Phillips, scored in the ninth minute of play, drilling a shot from 14 yards out. It was his team-leading third goal of the season.
Linfield evened the score at 1-1 in the 27th minute.
The Missionaries nearly won the game in the final few minutes of overtime. First, Linfield keeper Grant Williams made a diving stop on Whitman sophomore Marc Nabelek's close-in shot. Then, with 20 seconds left, a Wildcat defender blocked a Stephen Phillips shot out of bounds.
Linfield was credited with 29 shots, although only 11 were on goal. Whitman put seven of its 10 shots on goal.
Brett Axelrod, Whitman's sophomore keeper, finished with 10 saves, including a diving stop of a Linfield header in the 56th minute of play.
Now 1-1-2 in Northwest Conference play, Whitman returns home next weekend to play Puget Sound on Saturday and Pacific Lutheran on Sunday. Both games start at 2:30 p.m.
In a game bereft of much offense, it was only fitting that an "own goal" was the difference in Puget Sound's 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over the Whitman men's soccer team Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
The game's only score came in the 36th minute of play off a Puget Sound corner kick. The ball kicked off Whitman's Joe Johnson and into the Missionary net as Johnson and a Puget Sound player made diving plays on the kick.
The loss dropped Whitman to 2-2-2 overall and 1-2-2 in the NWC. The Loggers remained undefeated, improving to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.
Puget Sound managed nine shots for the game, putting seven on goal and forcing Whitman keeper Brett Axelrod to make six saves. The Missionaries, on the other hand, had just two shots on the day, one in each half.
"Losing 1-0 to a good team isn't a bad thing, but we could have played much better than we did," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "Their offense wasn't a whole lot better than ours, but if we only generate two shots, that doesn't give us much chance at winning.
"We played well for the first 15 minutes, but then we seemed to go into a funk after that," Washington added. "We seemed to rush into everything, and that's not the way we've been playing. We need to have better quality possessions than we had today."
Foul calls went against Whitman by a 21-6 count. Five Missionaries also were handed yellow cards. "I don't know if we were that much more physical than the other team," Washington said. "I don't know if it was a referre issue, or if we were losing control a bit."
Whitman seeks to right its ship when it hosts Pacific Lutheran at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Lutes lost 2-0 at Whitworth Saturday. Puget Sound, meanwhile, visits Whitworth for its Sunday game.
A header off a soaring 50-yard penalty kick gave Pacific Lutheran a 1-0 victory in Northwest Conference men's soccer action Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Now 3-1 in NWC play, the Lutes tallied Sunday's lone goal with just under five minutes left in the first half. Andy Stolz lofted the free kick to the six-yard box, where teammate Erik Gracey rose above the crowd to twist the header into the Missionary net.
"There are a lot of goals scored right before halftime," Whitman coach Mike Washington. "We played well in the first half, but we need to keep our focus at the end."
Whitman, now 1-3-2 in conference, outshot the Lutes 7-5 in the first half. Pacific Lutheran turned the tables a bit in the second half and finished the game with a 14-11 edge in shots. The visitors also had a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.
"We were disappointed greatly that we didn't generate more offense in Saturday's game," Washington said. "We did much better today with 11 shots, but that still isn't enough. We need to create more opportunities."
Washington was pleased with his team's Sunday effort. "The attitude was much better today. We worked much harder, and we stayed with the game plan much better than we did yesterday. If we keep working this harder, we'll be rewarded for it."
Whitman hosts Whitworth at 6:30 p.m. next Saturday in its only game of the weekend. Pacific Lutheran returns to Tacoma to play Linfield and Willamette.
Slicing through the right side of the defense, Chris Johnson took a pass from Ryan Powers and scored in the 38th minute to propel Whitworth to 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over Whitman in men's soccer action Saturday evening at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
With the win, the Pirates inched into first place with a 4-1-2 conference record, just ahead of 4-0-1 Puget Sound. In dropping its third consecutive 1-0 decision, Whitman fell to 1-4-2.
"Whitworth is a good side, but the last three teams we've played have all been good," Whitman coach Mike Washington. "We've played them all tough and given a good account of ourselves. We've given ourselves a chance to win each time, and that's all we can ask."
The Pirates outshot their hosts 12-5 in the first half. In the second half, the shots were almost even at 6-5 in Whitworth's favor. "We made a few adjustments at halftime, and we played much better in the second half," Washington said. "We gave ourselves better possessions and better chances."
Sophomore Stephen Phillips took four of Whitman's 10 shots. Senior Ali Seyedali had five shots for the Pirates, while teammates Niko Varlamos and Matt Friesen took three each.
Whitman keeper Brett Axelrod finished with fives saves. Kevin Bostock had two saves for Whitworth.
Both Whitman and Whitworth play next weekend in western Oregon. On Saturday, Whitman plays at George Fox while the Pirates are at Willamette. The two eastern Washington schools swap opponents on Sunday.
The Whitman men's soccer team completed a season sweep of George Fox Saturday with a 2-1 Northwest Conference victory in Newberg, Ore.
The Missionaries, who rolled over George Fox 4-1 last month in Walla Walla, upped their conference record to 2-4-2. The Bruins slipped to 2-5-1.
"We controlled most of the game and did a good job as a team," Whitman coach Mike washington said. "We could have done better job tactically in dealing with their long-ball aerial attacks, but we made some adjustments at halftime that gave us more possessionss. Fox is just a tough team with the way they play on their own pitch."
Sophomore Stephen Phillips set up Whitman's first goal in the 17th minute of play, driving the middle of the field toward the keeper's box. Phillips sent a pass to the right side to junior Andy Huntington, who angled a shot into the left corner of the net. It was Huntington's second goal of the season.
Six minutes into the second half, Whitman made it 2-0 on senior midfielder Mike Brown's first career goal. Brown scored from 10 yards out, taking a pass that sophomore Greg Phillips threaded through traffic.
Brown's goal turned out to the game-winner when George Fox scored off its long-ball offense with just 55 seconds left to play. Dylan Durrell got his second goal of the season, taking a long pass from Matt Gurlides and reversing it into the net.
"They just kept sending ball longs forward and finally got a lucky bounce on one of them," Washington said. "They didn't really test our defense that much."
Brett Alexrod, Whitman's sophomore keeper, made seven saves in goal and just missed posting his third shutout of the season.
Whitman plays at Willamette Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore Jason Shon scored a pair of goals, the first of his college career, to power the Whitman men's soccer team to a 3-1 Northwest Conference victory over Willamette Sunday afternoon in Salem, Ore.
Winning their second road game of the weekend, the Missionaries improved to 3-4-2 in conference and 4-4-2 overall. Willamette fell to 0-8-1 in the NWC and 1-12-1 on the season.
The Bearcats took the early lead, scoring in the 31st minute. That lead held until Shon knocked a header into the net with just 31 seconds left in the first half. The scoring play began when sophomore Kevin Sigley's corner kick was flicked to Shon from sophomore Stephen Phillips.
Both sides generated seven shots in the opening half, although Willamette held a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal. "We really didn't play so well in the first half," Whitman coach Mike Washington. "We panicked a bit in the beginning and didn't play with any rhythm."
Whitman picked up its play in the second half, outshooting its host 12-4 and sending five shots on goal. Shon got the game-winner at the 75:59 mark, scoring off Brett Rawson's free kick. Less than a minute later, Willamette was reduced to 10 men on the field when Ryan Ward was given a red card for knocking down Phillips in the goalie box. Junior Craig Yuen converted the penalty kick for his first goal of the season and a 3-1 Whitman lead.
About 30 seconds later, Willamette's circumstances went from bad to worse when Paul Slavik picked up a red card, forcing the Bearcats to play the rest of the way with nine players.
"It wasn't a very good start for us, but we gave a good performance at the second half," Washington said.
In their first meeting this season, Whitman and Willamette battled to a scoreless overtime tie in Walla Walla.
Whitman returns home next weekend for its final two home games of the season. The Missionaries host Linfield on Saturday and Pacific on Sunday. Both games start at 2:30 p.m. at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The Missionaries then play their final three games on the road.
Senior Mike Grabast booted his team-leading ninth goal of the season midway through the second half to give Linfield a 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over the Whitman men's soccer team Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Dropping its fourth 1-0 decision of the NWC season, Whitman slipped to 3-5-2 in the conference standings and to 4-5-2 on the season. Meanwhile, in snapping a three-game losing streak, Linfield improved to 4-4-2 in the NWC and to 7-5-2 overall.
Following a scoreless first half, Grabast notched his game-winning goal in the 66th minute of play. After Linfield's Andy Sharp played the ball forward, the fleet-footed Grabast got to it first and chipped his shot over keeper Brett Axelrod.
Linfield's speed created problems for the Missionaries for much of the game, Whitman coach Mike Washington noted. "Their speed forced us to play deeper in the back than we normally do, which stretched us out quite a bit," he said. "That made it difficult for our midfield to give much support to our forwards (Stephen Phillips, Andy Huntington)."
Whitman generated little offense in the first half, getting outshot 11-3. After Grabast scored for Linfield in the second half, the Missionaries cranked up their offense, outshooting the Wildcats 7-2 the rest of the way.
Whitman nearly got the equalizing goal with 14:25 left to play. Getting free on the left side, Phillips ripped a shot that clipped the crossbar and sailed over.
With 5:22 remaining, Huntington drilled a ball toward the front of the Linfield goal. Phillips got his head on a shot that popped into the air and came down on the top of the netting. Little more than a minute later, sophomore Jason Shon's bullet from 20 yards out sailed over the crossbard by a few feet.
Despite Whitman's late surge of offense, Linfield finished with a 16-12 edge in shots, which included a 6-1 bulge in shots on goal. "Linfield is a very good side," Washington said. "Their speed is hard to defend."
Axelrod finished with five saves in goal for the Missionaries. "They outshot and outworked us a bit, so Brett was busy today," Washington said. "He does a great job for us."
Saturday's game was preceded by "senior appreciation" ceremonies for seven Whitman seniors and their parents. The Missionary seniors are Egan Brinkman, Cole Sherman, Daniel Beekman, Brett Rawson, Mike Brown, Chris Dorough and Jon Rue.
Earlier this season in McMinnville, Ore., Whitman and Linfield fought to a 1-1 overtime tie.
Whitman hosts Pacific at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Linfield travels to Spokane, Wash., on Sunday to play Whitworth.
With a retooled offense generating a season-high 20 shots, the Whitman men's soccer team outscored Pacific 3-2 Sunday afternoon in Northwest Conference action at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Winning for the third time in four games, Whitman improved to 4-5-2 (5-5-2 overall) in the conference standings, good enough for a fifth-place tie with Linfield. Pacific is just a step ahead in fourth place with a 5-5-1 conference mark.
"We moved five players into the midfield with the hope of getting more offense," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "With that line-up, we knew we could get some goals, but we knew we might give up some also. We knew it was going to be exciting, and it was."
Whitman snatched the early lead when senior Jon Rue scored his first goal of the season in the 13th minute of play. Rue took a pass from sophomore Kevin Sigley, ran to the right corner of the goalie box, curled back around a slipping defender and fired a bullet to the far post.
It was Sigley's recent return from an early season injury that allowed Washington to move Rue from the back into more of an offensive role. "We know what Jon can do on the defensive side, but with Kevin back, it's nice to have Jon contribute more to the offense."
Rue nearly scored again with 25 minutes left in the first half. His hard shot from the left side, however, was stopped by Pacific keeper Jory Shene, who made six saves on the day.
Whitman pushed its lead to 2-0 when sophomore Marc Nabelek got his first goal of the season in the 17th minute of the second half. With senior Brett Rawson getting the assist, Nabelek beat the charging Shene to a ball and chipped it over his head and into the net.
Moments later, the Missionaries nearly made it 3-0 after sophomore Joe Johnson completed a run around the right corner and sent a crossing pass to the far post. Nabelek's header bounced off the post and then off Shene before being cleared by the defense.
"Those are the goals we need to finish," Washington said. "A goal there would have pretty much killed the game. We don't want to let teams hang around and come back, which is what Pacific did."
With plenty of time left on the clock, junior Danny Williams got Pacific on the scoreboard with an assist from junior Robin Grossman. The breakaway goal -- the sixth of the season for Williams -- cut the Boxer deficit to 2-1.
Whitman regained some breathing room with 22:27 left to play. Senior Mike Brown played a perfect pass to Johnson as he streaked through the top of the goalie box. A Pacific defender knocked Johnson to the ground, setting up a penalty kick that junior Craig Yuen converted for a 3-1 lead. It was Yuen's second goal of the season.
Three minutes later, Shene deflected Nabelek's shot from the right side to keep Whitman from extending its lead any further. Then, with just under 17 minutes to play, senior Derek Atta got behind the defense for his second goal of the season as Grossman tallied his second assist of the day.
That was it for the scoring, however, as Whitman held on down the stretch for the win. In this season's first meeting between the two schools, Pacific was a 4-1 winner in Forest Grove.
Whitman outshot Pacific 20-6 in Sunday's rematch, taking 10 shots in each half. Ten of Whitman's shots were on goal, while Pacific scored on the only two shots it placed on goal. Junior James Millikan went the distance as Whitman's keeper.
"This was a good team victory of us today," Washington said. "We juggled our line-up and it worked. Depth is one of the strengths of this team, and we need to make use of it."
The Missionaries continue NWC play next weekend, playing at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and at Puget Sound on Sunday. Pacific hosts George Fox in its next game next Sunday.
There was something all too familiar about Whitman's 1-0 loss to Pacific Lutheran Saturday afternoon in men's soccer action in Tacoma, Wash. The Missionary men have now lost five of their last eight games, and all of the losses have come by 1-0 scores.
"It was just another one of those games," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We played well and had possession of the ball more than the other side. We created an equal number of opportunies and even had a few more shots on goal. But they managed to get a goal and we didn't."
Pacific Lutheran raised its third-place Northwest Conference record to 7-3-1, keeping the top two teams in the league within reach. The hard-luck Missionaries slipped into sixth place at 4-6-2.
Baard Asker, a freshman from Oslo, Norway, scored the game's only goal about six minutes into the second half. It was Asker's team-leading ninth goal of the season, and it was the only shot the Lutes put on goal in the game.
Both teams took just six shots, three in each half. Whitman put half of its shots on goal, forcing Pacific Lutheran keeper Andrew Croft to make three saves.
"Other than a couple of headers, we didn't create any clear-cut opportunities for ourselves," Washington said. "But I can't be disappointed with the effort. We played hard, we controlled the midfield and we were strong in the back.
"We've been right there, very close, in all of these games. We hope we can find a little more offense on Sunday."
Whitman plays first-place Puget Sound at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Missionaries then wrap up their season next Saturday at Whitworth.
Puget Sound tallied three quick goals early in the second half to turn a 1-0 lead into an easy 4-0 win over the Whitman men's soccer team Sunday afternoon in Tacoma, Wash.
The Loggers kept their grip on first place in the Northwest Conference, raising their record to 9-1-2. The Missionaries finished the weekend with a 4-7-2 conference mark.
"Looking back, they scored all four goals off set pieces, which we obviously didn't defend very well," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "They basically won the game on dead-ball situations, which is unfortunate."
Puget Sound outshot Whitman 13-1 in the first half, although the Loggers held a slim 1-0 headed to the final 45 minutes. The host squad made it 2-0 ninety seconds into the second half and then added a third goal four four minutes later.
"They were able to score those goals in quick succession, so the game got away from us fairly quickly in the second half," Washington said.
Whitman generated much of its offense late in the game. "We put more pressure on them in the last 15 minutes or so," Washington said. "We hit the crossbar once and made their keeper make some saves, buy but it was too little, too late."
The Missionaries took nine shots in the second half, forcing Puget Sound keeper Pete Van Sant to make six saves.
"We had a few players out with injury today, but we were never able to get any control of the game," Washington said. "At this point we just need to lick our wounds and get ready for Whitworth."
Whitman closes out its season at Whitworth at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday.
A controversial goal with about six minutes left to play lifted Whitworth to a 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over the Whitman men's soccer team Saturday afternoon in Spokane, Wash.
The Pirates scored on a corner kick play in which Whitman keeper Brett Axelrod ended up in his own goal. "It definitely looked like a foul (on Axelrod)," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "Brett said afterwards that he was pushed into the goal. The linesman came over but the referee didn't call anything."
"The game going to overtime at 0-0 would have been a fair result, I think, but that's not what happened," Washington added.
The loss capped a frustrating season for the Missionary men's team, which lost a total of seven games by a 1-0 count. "Again, we played well enough to win," Washington said. "We hit the post with a shot early in the game, and we had other great chances that we weren't able to convert."
Whitman outshot their hosts 22-21, although the Pirates held a 6-3 edge in shots on goal. Andy Huntington and Jon Rue took six and four shots, respectively, for Whitman. Stephen Phillips, Craig Yuen and Brett Rawson all had two shots each.
Whitman ended its hard-luck season with a record of 4-8-2 in the NWC. Whitworth finished at 9-3-2.
Playing their final games for the Missionaries were seniors Egan Brinkman, Cole Sherman, Jon Rue, Brett Rawson, Chris Dorough, Mike Brown and Daniel Beekman.