After having trouble scoring goals last season, the Whitman men's soccer team made sure that wasn't the case in its season opener Saturday night in Riverside, Calif., rolling an 8-1 rout of NCAA Div. III independent La Sierra University.
"We scored some good goals early and pretty much controlled the game from start to finish," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We were able to get nearly everyone into the game, and overall I was pleased with the way we played. We saw some things we need to work out defensively, but we can do that."
Stephen Phillips, a junior midfielder, scored twice as the Missionaries moved in front 4-0 by intermission. Senior forward Andy Huntington added a goal and assist in the first 45 minutes of play. Sophomore Jasper Lipton, assisted by first-year sophomore Todd Wallenius, booted the fourth Missionary goal.
Mike McKenzie, a junior defender, opened the second-half scoring for Whitman with the first goal of his college career. Wallenius and freshman Matt Manley followed with their first college strikes, stretching the Missionary lead to 7-0.
Chris Soto got La Sierra on the scoreboard with a goal in the 74th minute of play. With less than four minutes left in the game, Whitman freshman Ben Foster notched his first college goal to complete the scoring.
Whitman sent a total of 21 players onto the field and generated 24 shots -- 22 of them on goal. La Sierra took 10 shots, putting two on goal. Whitman keeper Brett Axelrod finished with one save.
The Missionaries play their second game of the season at 4 p.m. Sunday at the University of La Verne.
Goals by Stephen Phillips, Marc Nabelek and Andy Huntington powered Whitman to a 3-2 soccer victory at the University of La Verne Sunday afternoon in La Verne, Calif.
"We controlled most of the game," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "They had their own sporadic chances, but we had the run of play most of the time."
Now 2-0 to start the season, Whitman stops on the way home to play a Tuesday afternoon game at Saint Martin's University (Lacey, Wash.), an NCAA Div. II squad. The Saints are 2-3 to start their season.
Whitman scored first at La Verne, getting a goal from Phillips in the 15th minute of play. Nabelek flicked Craig Yuen's corner kick to Phillips, who pocketed his third goal in two games. Less than five minutes later, La Verne evened the score on a Wesley Lucas goal.
Nabelek's unassisted goal in the 31st minute sent Whitman into the break with a 2-1 lead. Three minutes into the second half, Huntington's second goal of the season gave the Missionaries a 3-1 cushion. Whitman's defense held firm until Lucas booted his second goal with just 20 seconds remaining to wrap up the scoring.
Whitman keeper Brett Axelrod went the distance in goal, making three saves against 13 La Verne shots.
"The competition was better today than what we faced on Saturday, but our respone to that stronger competition was good," Washington said. "We played well, and defensively we sorted out some mistakes from Saturday."
After playing at Saint Martin's Tuesday, Whitman plays its home openers next weekend. The Missionaries host Simon Fraser University at noon Saturday and Albertson College at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Continuing its early season scoring splurge, Whitman ran past NCAA Div. II Saint Martin's 4-0 in men's soccer action Tuesday afternoon in Lacey, Wash. The shutout extends the Missionary early season record to 3-0 -- the best start in coach Mike Washington's 10 years at the helm.
The loss dropped Saint Martin's to 2-4 on the season. "Our tempo and ball movement were phenomenal," Washington said. "We made a good team struggle trying to keep up with us. This is probably the best team we've played so far, but we started quickly, caught them on their heels and set the tempo right from the beginning."
Stephen Phillips, a junior midfielder, got Whitman on the board at the 10-minute mark of the first half, knocking home his fourth goal of the season with an assist from sophomore forward Jerreh Badjie. Less than seven minutes later, senior forward Andy Huntington picked off an errant pass and booted an unassisted goal to give the Missionaries a 2-0 lead at the break.
Whitman took control midway through the second half on Huntington's second goal -- his fourth of the season -- to move in front 3-0. Senior Craig Yuen tallied his second assist of the season on the play. Three minutes later, sophomore Jasper Lipton nailed his second goal of the young season, assisted by sophomore Joe Johnson's second assist, to complete the scoring.
"We started three strikers (Huntington, Badjie and Marc Nabelek) and that seemd to really get us going," Washington said. "We put Saint Martin's under a great deal of pressure, and we played well at the defensive end. I'm quite pleased. Everyone played well."
Whitman got off 13 shots, putting nine on goal. Brett Axelrod, Whitman's junior keeper, made six saves against nine shots to post his first shutout of the season.
The Missionaries play their home openers this weekend, hosting Simon Fraser at noon Saturday and Albertson at 2 p.m. Sunday. Both games will be played at the Whitman Athletic Fields, next to DeSales High School.
Simon Fraser, ranked No. 15 nationally in NAIA, scored a pair of second-half goals and handed the Whitman men's soccer team its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
The 2-0 triumph elevated Simon Fraser's record to 5-1-1. Whitman, which lost starting goalkeeper Brett Axelrod to a strained stomach muscle in the first half, dropped to 3-1 on the season.
"We played them even for a long time, but then we turned the ball far too much in the second half," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We won't play a better team all season. When you make mistakes against a team of that caliber, you get punished."
Simon Fraser had a 7-3 edge in shots in the first half, but the Missionaries went to the break in a scoreless deadlock. Axelrod, a junior and two-year starter in goal, left the game in 38th minute and was replaced by freshman Nic McDonald, who picked off his first college save a minute later.
The visitors pierced the Missionary defense for their goal in the fourth minute of the second half. McDonald got his hands on a point-blank shot from Justin Carvery, but the ball bounced into the netting. A few minutes later, McDonald stopped a penalty kick attempt, but Simon Fraser converted a second goal in the 74th minute.
"Nic did a very good job," Washington said. "He made a great save on the penalty kick, although we weren't quite sure what the penalty kick was for. What killed us were the turnovers and letting Simon Fraser get to our goal. We have to be a bit smarter in clearing the ball. Sometimes you can't be too cute about it -- you just need to get the ball out of there."
Simon Fraser finished with a 17-4 bulge in shots as Washington cleared his bench in the closing minutes. "After starting the season 3-0, this was a good taste of reality for us," Washington said. "This is what happens when you make mistakes against a strong team. We need to learn from this and get better."
Whitman returns to its home turf at 2 p.m. Sunday for a non-conference battle with Albertson. The Missionaries then open their Northwest Conference season next weekend at home, hosting Linfield on Saturday and Pacific on Sunday.
A back-and-forth men's soccer game took a final turn in favor of Albertson when Jesus Lopez headed home a Kazuki Murata corner kick to give the Coyotes a 4-3 double-overtime victory over Whitman Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields. Both teams left the field with 3-2 season records.
"It's a great way to win a game, but a horrible way to lose one," Whitman coach Mike Washington said.
Albertson's sudden death victory came midway through the second 10-minute overtime. Two minutes earlier, Whitman came within a foot or two of winning the game when Jerreh Badjie took a pass from Stephen Phillips and sailed a shot just over the crossbar.
Whitman held sway early in the warm afternoon, jumping in front 2-0 in the first 20 minutes. After Andy Huntington hit the crossbar with a shot in the first minute of play, Phillips corralled Huntington's throw-in from the side and scored from 15 yards out. The Missionaries extended their lead to 2-0 at the 20:02 mark when a leaping Huntington got his head on a cross from Joe Johnson and flicked the ball into the back of the net.
Albertson, the defending champ of the NAIA's Cascade Conference, wasted no time mounting a counterstrike. Fifteen seconds later, in fact, Garga Caserta beat the Whitman defense and drilled a hard shot to the upper right shelf.
Whitman led 2-1 at the break, although Albertson had outshot their hosts 12-9, which included an 8-4 edge in shots on goal. Freshman keeper Nic McDonald, subbing for injured starer Brett Axelrod, had seven saves in the first 45 minutes of action.
Albertson kept up the pressure in the second half, pulling even in the 63rd minute on a Alex Penrod goal assisted by Antonio Bautista. Murata's unassisted score with 14 minutes left on the clock put the Coyotes on top 3-2.
With just over five minutes remaining in regulation, Whitman's Jesus Reyes evened the score at 3-3, dribbling to his left across the front of the goal and then slicing a shot a back to the right corner of the net.
Both sides got off three shots in overtime. With 2:10 left in the first extra session, Kevin Sigley got his head on a Craig Yuen corner kick, but Albertson keeper Jay Gentile was there to make the save. With just under seven minutes left in the second overtime, Badjie's run up the right side and shot nearly won the game for the Missionaries. Lopez then converted the game-winning header for Albertson with 105:05 on the game clock.
"We showed glimpses of good play on offense, but we need more consistency," Washington said. "We need to do a better job of bringing the ball out of the back and moving through the midfield without turning the ball over. Albertson's second and third goals were one-on-one situations with our keeper after we did a poor job of taking care of the ball."
Albertson outshot Whitman 30-17 on the day. McDonald, in his first college start, kept the Missionaries close with 13 saves.
Despite the loss, his team continued to show signs of progress, Washington said. "We've had a good preseason to get us ready for the start of the conference season. We've played some strong teams, so I'll take our 3-2 record at this point in the season."
Whitman opens Northwest Conference play next weekend at home, hosting Linfield on Saturday and Pacific on Sunday. Both games start at 2:30 p.m. at the Whitman Athletic Fields, immediately following noon women's games between the same set of schools.
Whitman scored twice in the first 17 minutes of play and rolled to a 4-1 victory over Linfield in Northwest Conference men's soccer action Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Playing its NWC opener, Whitman improved to 4-2 on the season. Linfield suffered its first loss of the fall, slipping to 4-1 and 0-1 in conference.
"It was a fun, enjoyable day," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We played well, and we outran and outworked them. Linfield won all four of their non-conference games, and I think we surprised them a little bit."
Greg Phillips, a junior midfielder, tallied his first goal of the season in the 13th minute to get the Missionaries off to a good start. Andy Huntington, who leads the NWC in scoring, set up the play, winning a ball and drawing the defense before dishing to Phillips for a 15-yard scoring strike.
Four minutes later, Huntington booted his sixth goal of the season to give Whitman a 2-0 lead. Late in the half, after Marc Nabelek was knocked to the ground in front of the Linfield goal, teammate Craig Yuen converted the penalty kick for a 3-0 Missionary lead.
Linfield got its sole goal seven minutes into the second half when Micahel Camacho beat a defender and fired a rocket from 25 yards into the upper right corner. But chances for a Wildcat rally faded when Missionary junior Stephen Phillips rolled up the left side, took a nifty pass from junior Simon Quay and slotted the the ball back to the right corner of the net. Phillips also has six goals on the season.
"Our ball movement was great, which led to some great goals," Washington said. His squad has scored 22 goals through its first six games and leads the conference in team scoring. "We need to keep our offensive momentum going."
Whitman outshot the visitors 13-1 in the first half and finished with a 17-6 bulge in shots for the game. That included an 8-2 edge in shots on goal.
"Our defense was outstanding today," Washington said. "Mike McKenzie was fantastic, but so were Joe Johnson, Jordan Droppert and Kevin Sigley. They all played well."
Returning from injury, Whitman keeper Brett Axelrod went the distance in goal, making one save. Linfield keeper Mike Belzberg finished with four saves.
Whitman stays at home Sunday, hosting at 2:30 p.m. game against Pacific, which lost 3-0 Saturday at Whitworth. Linfield travels to Spokane on Sunday to play Whitworth.
After scoring 22 times in its first six games -- an offensive splurge that included four goals in a Saturday victory over Linfield, the Whitman men's soccer team came up empty in a 3-0 loss to Pacific Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Pacific, improving to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Northwest Conference, wasted little time in getting its offense untracked. With an assist from Travis Birrell, Danny Williams scored just 8:16 into the game, and the Boxers made it 2-0 when a Whitman defensive turnover led to Kizamu Tsutakawa's unassisted goal in the 21st minute.
Whitman, which saw its record fall to 4-3 and 1-1, took 13 shots but only four were on goal. Any hopes for a Missionary comeback took a big hit when Williams booted his second goal of the game, and fourth of the season, early in the second half. Tsutakawa and Todd Gienger assisted on the play.
"From yesterday to today, we were like Jekyll and Hyde," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "A defense that was rock solid on Saturday was like a sieve on Sunday. We also went back to making stupid mistakes and turning the ball over, which is what we did in the loss to Albertson. Our play is still sporadic, and we need to fix that."
While Whitman outshot the Boxers 13-11, the Pacific attack was more focused, putting seven shots on goal.
"We knew they were going to play a certain way, but we weren't very smart in the way we played," Washington said. "They packed the middle defensively, but we still tried to push the ball right down the middle."
Andrew Stevermer played the first 71 minutes in goal for Pacific, making four saves. Chris Caswell minded the Boxer net for the final 19 minutes to complete the shutout.
David got the best of Goliath as Whitman cut down George Fox 1-0 in Northwest Conference men's soccer action Saturday afternoon in Newberg, Ore.
Matt Manley, a 5-foot-7 Whitman freshman, scored the game's only goal, heading a ball past Kyle Putnam, George Fox's 6-foot-8 senior goalkeeper, in the 74th minute of play.
Manley's header was his second goal of the season. "It was an interesting play to see one of the smallest players on the field get a ball past their keeper," Whitman coach Mike Washington said.
Whitman upped its record to 5-3 on the season and 2-1 in the NWC. The Bruins are 3-5 overall and 1-2 in conference.
The Missionaries outshot George Fox 16-6, which included a 10-3 bulge in shots on goal. "We controlled a lot of the game, although they have a few very dangerous players," Washington said. "We played well defensively, and one of our freshmen, Cooper Crosby, did a good job for us in a starting role."
Jordan Droppert, a first-year sophomore, paced the offense with five shots, three on goal. Senior Andy Huntington and junior Stephen Phillips had three and two shots, respectively. Senior Craig Yuen notched his third assist of the season on Manley's game-winning goal.
Brett Axelrod, Whitman's junior keeper, made three saves to post his second shutout of the season.
Whitman continues NWC play on Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. game at Willamette in Salem, Ore.
Andy Huntington and brothers Greg and Stephen Phillips scored goals as Whitman notched its second consecutive Northwest Conference road victory with a 3-0 Sunday afternoon shutout of Willamette in Salem, Ore.
Whitman, which blanked George Fox 1-0 on Saturday, ended the weekend with records of 6-3 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. Willamette is 2-5-1 overall and 0-4 in the NWC.
"It was a great weekend on the road for us," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We were solid all the way around."
Striking from 18 yards out, Stephen Phillips staked Whitman to a 1-0 lead with his seventh goal of the season at the 32:36 mark of the first half. Jesus Reyes provided the assist on the play.
Eight minutes into the second half, Huntington made it 2-0 Whitman with his seventh goal of the season, chipping a 35-yard shot over the Willamette keeper's head. "Andy's goal was unbelievable," Washington said. "It was quite the shot."
With just over 10 minutes left on the clock, Greg Phillips booted his second goal of the season, firing a 15-yard shot that deflected off a Willamette defender before finding the net.
Whitman goalkeeper Brett Axelrod got credit for his second shutout of the weekend, making two saves in playing the first 83:41. Freshman Nic McDonald finished the game in goal.
"Our defense was good," Washington said. "Craig Yuen did a good job man-marking one of their key players. Cooper Crosby played another good game along with the entire back line."
Whitman outshot Willamette 8-2 in the second half to finish with a 15-12 edge in shots. The Missionaries put eight of its shots on goal, twice as many as the Bearcats.
A free kick from just outside the box midway through the first half carried Puget Sound to a 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over the Whitman men's soccer team Saturday afternoon in Tacoma, Wash.
The nationally-ranked Loggers improved to 8-0 on the season and 3-0 in conference. Whitman slipped to a 6-4 and 3-2.
Puget Sound controlled the first half of play, outshooting the Missionaries 14-3. Brett Axelrod, Whitman's junior keeper, made eight saves over the first 45 minutes. "Brett made a couple of great saves in the first half to keep us in the game," Whitman coach Mike Washington said.
Shots after the break were even at 5-5. "We played much better in the second half," Washington said. "We had more possession and run of play, and we had a few opportunities to score. We played well and I was happy with our effort. We were just lacking a little bit on offense."
The Missionaries got two shots each from Kevin Sigley, Jordan Droppert and Stephen Phillips.
Whitman stays in Tacoma to play Pacific Lutheran at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Another strong effort in goal by keeper Brett Axelrod wasn't quite enough to save Whitman from a 1-0 loss to Puget Sound on a sloppy, rain-soaked field Sunday afternoon in Tacoma, Wash.
The Lutes finished the weekend with records of 3-1 in conference and 5-5 overall. Whitman, which also lost 1-0 Saturday at Puget Sound, is 3-3 in the NWC and 6-5 on the season.
Pacific Lutheran got the game's only goal with just under eight minutes left to play. Mike Ferguson, who took eight of the host squad's 14 shots, knocked the ball to the right wing for Erik Gracey, who sent a low cross back through the goal area. Jason Bjorgo swept in from the left wing and knocked in the game winner.
"We probably played better today than we did yesterday," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "Again, we can't be disappointed in our effort. It was just a momentary lack of concentration at the end that allowed them to get in on the backside and tuck one away."
Pacific Lutheran outshot the Missionaries 14-6, but Axelrod kept Whitman in the game with three quality saves in the first half. He also dove to his right late in the game to knock away Derek Karamatic's volley.
"We need to give Brett a shout out," Washington said. "He played really well and made some one-on-one saves that were phenomenal."
Axelrod finished with eight saves on the day and 17 for the weekend. "Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran were picked to finish first and second this year, so we knew this was going to be a tough weekend," Washington said. "But we think we came through the weekend pretty well. We know we can play with these teams."
Junior Stephen Phillips took three of the six Missionary shots, but it was senior Craig Yuen's free kick from just outside the box in the second half that stood out as Whitman's best scoring opportunity. Pacific Lutheran Daniel Mangum snatched Yuen's shot out of the air -- one of his three saves -- to keep the game scoreless at that point.
Whitman, which has played its last four games on the road, heads to Spokane next Saturday to play Whitworth. The Missionaries play two more road games on Oct. 13-14 before closing out the season with six homes games.
Suffering its third consecutive Northwest Conference road loss by a single goal, the Whitman men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Whitworth Saturday afternoon in Spokane, Wash.
The Missionaries, who have played five of their first seven NWC games away from home, slipped to 3-4 in conference and 6-6 overall. The Pirates are 6-1 and 7-2-1.
Whitman drew first blood at the 12:19 mark of the first half. Stephen Phillips, taking a pass on the left flank from older brother Greg Phillips, booted his NWC-leading eighth goal of the season, tucking the ball just inside the left post. It was the third goal the stingy Pirate defense had surrendered it its last eight games.
"We have continued to play better," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "Stevie's goal was a nice one, coming off a nice assist from Greg."
Whitworth outshot Whitman 9-2 in the first half, although the Pirates put just two of those shots on goal. With 16 minutes gone in the second half, the home team squared the game at 1-1 when Matt Friesen converted a penalty kick. "We got caught over the top on a long ball and kind of fouled a guy," Washington said.
The remainder of the second half was scoreless. Whitworth took 12 more shots over the final 45 minutes of regulation, putting three more on goal, including the two balls that found the back of the net. Whitman was credited with five shots, two of them on goal.
The Pirates wasted little time in overtime, scoring the game winner on a corner kick after just 2:01 of play. The Missionary defense failed to cover Ben Dixon on the play, and Dixon drilled an open shot to the left post.
Whitworth is a good side," Washington said. "We were chasing the game a little bit today, but we could have snagged it. We're disappointed with the end result. A tie would have probably been a more fair result for us."
Whitman doesn't play Sunday and returns to the road next weekend for games at Pacific and Linfield. The Missionaries then play their final six games at home.
Stephen Phillips assisted on Whitman's first goal and then booted the game winner in the second overtime to lift the Missionaries to a 2-1 Northwest Conference soccer victory over Pacific Saturday afternoon in Forest Grove, Ore.
The Missionaries, now 7-6 on the season, evened their NWC slate at 4-4, jumping over Pacific into fourth place in the conference standings. The Boxers slipped to 3-3-2 in league and 5-4-2 overall.
Leading 1-0 late in the game, Whitman nearly wrapped up the win in regulation. But Pacific's Danny Williams scored with 90 seconds remaining to force overtime.
"We gave a foul away and they scored off the ensuing free kick, which we didn't defend very well," Whitman coach Mike Washington said.
After a scoreless first 10-minute overtime period, Phillips struck for his NWC-leading ninth goal of the season with just under 90 seconds left in the second overtime. "Stephen got a ball for Jesue Reyes and took it down the right side," Washington said. "He faked a shot, cut back to his left and tucked it away. It was great goal."
The victory avenged Whitman's 3-0 loss to Pacific last month in Walla Walla.
The game was scoreless through the first 82 minutes. Seven seconds in the 83rd minute, however, sophomore Todd Wallenius booted his second goal of the season to give Whitman its 1-0 lead.
The shot totals for the two squads were nearly identical. Whitman finished with 15 attempts, one more than Pacific, although the Boxers led 9-8 in shots on goal. Phillips took two shots for the Missionaries, as did Craig Yuen, Mike McKenzie and Simon Quay. Keeper Brett Axelrod made eight saves for Whitman.
"It was a scrappy game," Washington said. "Their new (artificial turf) field made it difficult. It was a bit bouncy and awkward for us."
Whitman plays at Linfield Sunday in a game set to start at 2:30 p.m. The Missionaries then play their final six games at home.
Two scores early in each half carried Linfield to a 2-0 Northwest Conference men's soccer victory over visiting Whitman Sunday afternoon in McMinnville, Ore.
Whitman saw its conference record fall to 4-5 (7-7 overall), but the Missionaries remain in fourth place in the NWC standings. Linfield, now 2-5-1 in conference and 7-5-1 on the season, ends the weekend in sixth place.
Trailing 2-0 with about 25 minutes to left to play, Whitman thought it had a goal when Craig Yuen gathered a throw-in into the box and drilled the ball into the netting. The apparent goal was nullified, however, when officials called a handball.
Yuen, who has been playing in the midfield, moved to defender Sunday to replace injured starter Kevin Sigley. "We had to make a few adjustments, which threw us off a bit," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "In all fairness, though, we didn't play particularly well. We worked hard at the end, trying to get those goals back, but we didn't possess the ball as well today as we have in recent games."
Whitman, which beat Linfield 4-1 last month in Walla Walla, put seven of its nine shots on goal. Andy Huntington led the Missionaries with three shots. The Wildcats took 11 shots, putting six on goal.
Whitman now plays its final six games, including NWC contests, at home. The Missionaries host Willamette next Saturday and George Fox on Sunday. Both games start at 2:30 p.m., after the women's games between the same schools.
With Andy Huntington and Stephen Phillips each collecting a goal and an assist, the Whitman men's soccer team worked its way past a scrappy Willamette squad 3-1 on a wet, windy Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Whitman, which sits in fourth place in the Northwest Conference, evened its league record at 5-5 (8-7 overall) while Willamette slipped to 0-9-1 in the NWC and 2-11-2 on the season.
Jasper Lipton, a Missionary sophomore, gave Whitman a very early 1-0 lead, scoring 66 seconds into the contest after taking a long throw-in from Huntington. Willamette made it 1-1 in the 36th minute of play when Greg Beasley headed home a corner kick from Sam Hodder.
"I was a little disappointed we gave that goal away," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We had some miscommunication in defending the corner kick, and the goal gave Willamette some momentum. They are a scrappy team that works hard."
With less than two minutes left in the half, Phillips staked Whitman to a 2-1 lead with his team-leading 10th goal of the season. Senior Craig Yuen got the assist.
The Missionaries gained some breathing room at the 61:53 mark of the second half. Following a Willamette foul, Phillips took a pass from Yuen, rolled down the right side and ripped a cross to the front of the goal. The ball careened to the top of the box, where Huntington was waiting to fire a bullet into the lower right corner. The shared assist for Yuen was his fifth of the season.
"We worked this week in practice on trying to get behind the defense, and we did a better job with that today," Washington said.
Huntington, who has eight goals and four assists on the season, took four of Whitman's 21 shots. "When Andy is having fun, he's hard to stop," Washington said. "If he gets on a roll, he can be devastating."
Phillips, who also took four shots for the Missionaries, ranks near the top of the NWC scoring leaders with 10 goals and two assists.
Willamette finished with nine shots on the day, three by Michael Rodrigues. Beasley and Trevor took two shots each. Bearcat keeper Scott Klein had three saves on the day.
The Whitman defense held Willamette at bay for much of the day. The Bearcats managed just two shots on goal.
"Overall, this was a good team performance for us," Washington said. "Once we got that third goal, it was nice to get a lot of players into the game."
Whitman, which blanked Willamette 3-0 last month in Salem, stays at home Sunday to host George Fox in a game slated for 2:30 p.m. Willamette heads to Spokane for a Sunday game at Whitworth.
Scoring with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, George Fox salvaged a 1-1 double-overtime tie with Whitman in Northwest Conference men's soccer action Sunday afternoon on the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Whitman, now 5-5-1 in the NWC and 8-7-1, finished the weekend in fourth place in the conference standings. George Fox is 1-7-3 and 3-10-3.
Following a 0-0 first half, Whitman's Stephen Phillips took a pass from Andy Huntington in the 78th minute and nailed his 10th goal of the season. With the game nearing its final minute and the Missionaries on the verge of victory, George Fox evened the score at 1-1 on Ryan MacKenzie's goal with 88:38 on the clock. MacKenzie scored from point-blank range, after a centering pass from Kyle Story eluded two Whitman defenders.
Whitman came out firing in the first 10-minute overtime, outshooting the Bruins 6-2. With 5:30 remaining, Phillips ripped a shot toward an open goal as he slipped around George Fox keeper Kyle Putnam. The shot hit the left post, however, and bounded back through the center of the field.
A few minutes later, Jerrah Badjie's shot was blocked by a George Fox defender. Huntington forced Putnam to make a final save inside the last two minutes of the first overtime.
Neither side generated much offense in the second 10-minute overtime. Each team was limited to one shot.
"The result is very disappointing," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "We worked really, really hard today, but we didn't play very smart at times. They kept setting an offside trap, and we made it work for them instead of breaking it down."
The Missionaries were whistled for 16 offside infractions, as the Bruins played their defenders forward.
For the game, Whitman outshot George Fox 21-14, which included a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. Phillips took six shots for the Missionaries while Huntington uncorked five. Carlos Pehr and Erich Hangartner took four shots apiece for the Bruins.
Putnam made seven saves for George Fox. Brett Axelrod nabbed three for Whitman.
Whitman hosts three more games this week. It plays Walla Walla University in non-conference action at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, and then welcomes Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound to town on Saturday and Sunday. Both weekend games start at 1:30 p.m.
George Fox hosts Pacific at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Relying primarily on its young reserves, Whitman notched a 2-0 victory over Walla Walla University in non-conference men's soccer action Wednesday night at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Whitman ran its record to 9-7-1 overall, dropping Walla Walla to 7-7 on the season.
Todd Wallenius, a sophomore in his first season of college soccer, headed home Whitman's first goal in the 14th minute of the first half. Wallenius launched his 6-foot-1 frame up and over Walla Walla keeper Tim Lo, getting his head on a long centering pass from senior Jesus Reyes in the left corner.
With 19 minutes left in the first half, Missionary freshman Conner Bottomly just missed his first college goal, crushing a shot off the crossbar. Whitman ended the half with a 9-7 edge in shots, which included a 6-2 difference in shots on goal.
With his reserves tiring, Whitman coach Mike Washington sent some of his starters into the game midway through the second half. At the 73:37 mark, junior Stephen Phillips converted his 12th goal of the season, which leads the Northwest Conference, for a 2-0 lead. Phillips scored off a pass from junior defender Mike McKenzie.
Whitman dominated the second half, outshooting the Wolves 14-1 over the final 45 minutes. Wallenius, who now has three goals on the season, took four shots for the Missionaries, putting three on goal. Reyes and junior Marc Nabelek also had four shots each.
Isaac Lopez took five of Walla Walla's eight shots. Lo went the distance in goal for the Wolves, making 11 saves.
Freshman Nic McDonald, who got the start in goal for Whitman, played the first 71 minutes and made two saves, both in the first half. Tim Shu, also a freshman, finished the game in goal for the Missionaries.
Washington used a total of 20 players in the game, including 10 first-year players.
"We got a lot of players into the game, especially some of the younger players who haven't seen a lot of minutes this season," Washington said. "Our younger players played well. John Fleming was solid, Conner Bottomly played quite well and Matt Manley made some nice contributions."
Walla Walla put up a good fight, Washington added. "They are scrappy," he said. "They didn't create much offense, but they packed it in and made it difficult for us with their defense."
Whitman returns to NWC play this weekend, hosting second-place Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and third-place Puget Sound on Sunday. Both games start at 2:30 p.m. at the Whitman Athletic Fields. Whitman enters the weekend in fourth place in the conference standings.
Pacific Lutheran's Mike Ferguson rifled home a 25-yard free kick midway through the second half to lift the Lutes to a 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over Whitman Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Ferguson's goal, his 12th of the season, also lifted Pacific Lutheran into a second-place tie with Puget Sound in the NWC standings. Both teams head to Sunday's play with 8-2-1 conference marks.
Whitman, which had an apparent goal disallowed at the first-half buzzer, saw its conference record fall to 5-6-1. The Missionaries slipped into fifth place, one point behind 5-5-2 Pacific.
Saturday's first half ended in controversy when Whitman senior Andy Huntington hit a shot from about 20 yards out in the waning seconds. The ball bounced off the crossbar and into the net. But the referee, after consulting with one of the linesmen, said the ball entered the goal after the buzzer sounded.
Whitman coach Mike Washington disagreed. "To me, it was a goal," he said. "The officiating was inconsistent and indecisive."
Washington also took issue with a penalty call against Whitman that set the stage for Ferguson's scoring strike. "Both players went up for the ball, and their player came underneath our player," he said. "The foul should have gone the other way."
While unhappy with the officiating, Washington was pleased with his team's overall play against "one of the best teams in conference. We played right with them, and we outplayed them at times."
Shots were almost even. Whitman took 14 shots, putting four on goal. Pacific Lutheran finished with 13 shots, three on goal. Keeper Daniel Mangum made four saves for the Lutes, while Brett Axelrod picked off two for Whitman.
"Both teams had other scoring opportunities, and both keepers made good saves," Washington said.
Ferguson, a senior who took four of PLU's shots, now has 47 career goals. Conner Bottomly, a Whitman freshman, gave the Missionary offense a boost off the bench with three shots. Uncorking two shots each for Whitman were Stephen Phillips, Marc Nabelek and Craig Yuen. The Lutes got two shots each from Jason Bjorgo, Brian Lubeck, Andy Stolz and Erik Gracey.
Whitman stays at home Sunday to host a 2:30 p.m. game against Puget Sound, which lost 2-1 in double-overtime at Whitworth on Saturday. Pacific Lutheran plays Sunday at Whitworth, which sits atop the NWC standings with an 11-1 record.
Defender Kevin Sigley booted his first goal of the season, scoring off a corner kick, and keeper Brett Axelrod made nine saves as Whitman knocked off Puget Sound 1-0 in Northwest Conference men's soccer action Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Whitman, 10-8-1 on the season, evened its NWC record at 6-6-1 and jumped back into fourth place in the conference standings. The loss, which left Puget Sound with records of 13-3-1 and 8-3-1, knocked the Loggers out of NWC title contention.
With one game remaining (at Whitman next Saturday), Whitworth has the inside track on the conference crown with an 11-2 NWC record. Pacific Lutheran, now 9-2-1 after nipping Whitworth 1-0 in double-overtime today, needs to win its final two games next week to have any hope of catching or surpassing the Pirates in the final standings.
The offense took center stage as Sunday's Whitman-Puget Sound match-up got started. Two minutes into the game, Missionaries Stephen Phillips and Jesus Reyes clanged hard shots off keeper Pete Van Sant. Shortly thereafter, Axelrod came up big for Whitman in one seven-minute stretch that saw him block a point blank shot, deflect two more back-to-back attempts (one over the crossbar), and then knock a fourth shot wide of the goal.
"We know what we have in Brett back there," Whitman coach Mike Washington said. "He made most of his saves in that first half."
The Loggers outshot Whitman 12-8 in the opening half, forcing Axelrod to make seven saves in the first 45 minutes of play. "They put a lot of pressure on us early in the game," Washington said. "We had to withstand that pressure at the start, and then we were able to build from there. I was very pleased with the way our defense reacted as the game went on. We bent a little but didn't break, and then we got much stronger."
"For the most part, our defenders were fantastic today," Washington added. "Cooper Crosby, one of our freshmen, was phenomenal in the air. He must have won every ball that was in the air. Kevin Sigley also played well, and Mike McKenzie cleared one ball offline that got behind Brett."
Whitman, which outshot the Loggers 6-4 in the second half, finally broke through with 86:45 on the clock. Craig Yuen's corner kick from the right side sailed to the far post, where Phillips headed the ball to the middle. Sigley, one of the biggest players on the field at a rangy 6-foot-3, was waiting to boot the ball into the net. "It's ironic that we put our tallest players forward for a corner kick, hoping to get a head on the ball," Washington. "But then the ball ends up Kevin's feet for the score."
Four of Whitman's five corner kicks came in the second half as the Missionaries got their offense rolling. "Our plan with both games this weekend was to attack the other side," Washington said. "We didn't want to sit back on defense. By attacking the way we did, I think we caught them off guard just a bit."
Next Saturday's Whitman-Whitworth season finale will be played under the lights at the Whitman Athletic Fields, starting at about 6:30 p.m. A Whitman-Whitworth women's game is set to start that day at 4 p.m.
Puget Sound plays next Friday and Saturday at George Fox and Pacific.
Whitworth scored the game's only goal following a shot deflection to squeak past Whitman 1-0 and claim the Northwest Conference men's soccer title Saturday evening at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
The victory gives the Pirates a final record of 12-2 in the NWC and 14-3-1 on the season. Saturday's victory was just enough to keep Whitworth a step ahead of second-place Pacific Lutheran, which finished the season with an 11-2-1 record in conference play.
Whitman, which lost a total of five NWC games this fall by a single goal, slipped into fifth place with a 6-7-1 record (10-9-1 overall), finishing just a single point behind fourth-place Pacific and its 6-6-2 NWC record.
Following a scoreless first half, which saw both teams take just three shots, Whitworth hit paydirt just 3:07 into the second half. Matt Friesen's shot deflected off a Whitman defender and fell at the feet of Skye Henderson, who knocked home a shot from 10 yards out.
In the game's closing minutes, Whitman peppered the Pirate goal with four shots, but Whitworth keeper Scott Barnum made two key saves to preserve his 10th shutout of the season.
For the game, Whitman outshot the Pirates 12-10, including a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. Four Missionaries -- seniors Andy Huntington and Max Weber and juniors Simon Quay and Stephen Phillips -- took two shots each. Friesen, Keith Kirsch and Caleb Barnhill did the same for Whitworth.
Huntington and Weber, along with seniors Craig Yuen and Jesus Reyes -- were honored during senior ceremonies prior to the game.
Huntington was Whitman's second-leading scorer this season with eight goals and five assists. He finished his Missionary career with a total of 18 goals and 10 assists.
Yuen, who switched from defender to the midfield this season, wrapped up his college career with a total of nine goals and six assists. Both Weber, a team captain, and Reyes played their first two seasons at Walla Walla Community College. Weber struggled with injuries the past two years, but played in 13 games this fall. Reyes contributed one goal and three assists this fall.