With a number of players nursing nagging injuries, the Whitman women's soccer team opened its season with 0-0 double-overtime tie Saturday afternoon at Chapman University in Orange, Calif.
Courtney Porter, Whitman's sophomore goalkeeper, got the shutout while facing 14 Chapman shots, three of which were on goal and required saves. Whitman generated 10 shots, five of them on goal against Panthers junior keeper Madison Coffin.
"We had our chances to score," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We hit the crossbar with a shot in the first half, and their keeper made a couple of great saves in the second half."
In addition to Porter, defender Sarah Nostdal and midfielders Alisa Larson-Xu and Kristen Mittelsteadt played all 110 minutes for the Missionaries. Two of Whitman's primary scoring threats, senior Kristen Berndt and sophomore Corina Gabbert were both limited to just 55 minutes due to injury concerns. Sophomore Elle Burstein, a returning starter on defense, played less than half the game for the same reasons, and sophomore midfielder Kendall Shibuya failed to see any playing time at all.
"It was good to see some of our returning players play some minutes and not be affected too much by their injuries," Shields said. "We played pretty well for the most part, especially in the second half when the temperatures cooled off a bit. The first half was draining with the high heat, and it was unfortunate we didn't score a goal in regulation to avoid the overtime. It leaves us with a quick turn-around for tomorrow's game, which starts at 11 a.m.
The Missionaries, who play at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sunday, are coming off an 8-5-4 record last season. Chapman, an NCAA Div. III independent, was 12-7 a year ago, which included a 9-2 mark at home.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps capitalized on an early goal-mouth scramble and then held off Whitman and 100-degree temperatures for a 1-0 women's victory Sunday in Claremont, Calif.
"We played in the heavy, heavy mid-day heat, and it definitely took its toll on us," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We're a little banged up and short-handed, which didn't help. On the other side, they had 29 players on their roster and I think we saw all 29 of them. Our lack of depth hurt us some at the end."
CMS's first-half goal was not totally unexpected, Shields said. "We've got a new back line this season and the players aren't totally comfortable with one another yet," he said. "The ball bounced around in the box too long and we didn't get it cleared. It was the kind of scrappy goal that I feared another team might score on us early in the season."
Meanwhile, the Missionary offense failed to find the net for an equalizing goal. "We had our fair share of good opportunities," Shields said. "Kristen Berndt mishit a ball on one opportunity, and their keeper made a good stop on a shot that would evened the score late in the game."
Sophomore Courtney Porter, who shut out Chapman in Saturday's overtime stalemate, posted another strong effort in Whitman's goal. "Courtney had an absolutely great game today in stopping a few shots that should have been goals," Shields said. "She had a fantastic weekend."
CMS, which lost 2-1 Saturday to Carleton, evened its record at 1-1. Whitman, now 0-1-1 on the season, hosts Warner Pacific next Friday at 3 p.m.
"This was a good trip for us," Shields said. "We played two good teams, and we learned some things and got better."
Corina Gabbert scored off a lofty crossing pass from Sarah Nostdal in the eighth minute of play as the Whitman women's soccer team posted a 1-0 non-conference victory over Warner Pacific Friday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
While goals were scarce, the Missionaries dominated from start to finish, outshooting the Knights 23-2. Warner Pacific first-year keeper Ali Foster kept her side in the contest, making 13 saves.
"It's always nice to get a win, especially in your first home game of the season," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "If a team wants to do well as the season plays out, it needs to win its games at home."
Whitman, now 1-1-1 on the season, returns to the road on Saturday for a noon game at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The loss dropped Warner Pacific, an NAIA school from Portland, Ore., to 2-3 on the season.
"Obviously, we wished we could have scored more goals today, but we did generate a lot of shots and their keeper made a few great saves," Shields said. "The goal we did get was a beautiful play, and Courtney (Porter) got her second shutout of the season for us."
Nostdal, a junior defender, made her scoring pass from the right side, lifting the ball over the keeper's head the far post. Streaking up the left side, Gabbert caught the pass in stride, heading home the goal.
Gabbert, a sophomore, combined with senior Kristen Berndt and junior Alisa Larson-Xu to take 15 of Whitman's 23 shots. All three players had second-half scoring opportunities negated by Foster's strong play in the Warner Pacific goal.
"We're still working out a few bugs, so it was good that we got everyone into the game," Shields said. "Whenever you have the chance to go deep into your bench, it's a good idea. It helps to see the younger players in a game situation."
After surrendering a hat trick to Katy McNutt over the first 69 minutes of play, a late Whitman rally came up short in a 3-2 non-conference soccer loss to Northwest Nazarene Saturday afternoon in Nampa, Idaho.
The Crusaders, an NCAA Div. II squad, improved to 3-1-1 on the season while the Division III Missionaries slipped to 1-2-1.
"It was an interesting game because of NNU's style of play," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "They have a ton of speed and athleticism up top, and McNutt's effort and determination was the key to her three goals. We definitely feel like we've just played a higher division team."
McNutt claimed her first goal in the 40th minute of play, collecting a booming punt from Crusader keeper Amanda Peters and then finishing a one-on-one opportunity. "Their keeper had the wind at her back and the ball sailed farther than our defenders expected," Shields said. "It basically caught us off guard."
Despite outshooting Whitman 16-7 in the first half, the Missionaries trailed by just the one goal at the break. The tide turned in the second half when Whitman's defense failed to clear balls that led to two more McNutt goals.
"We found ourselves down 3-0, but we really didn't feel like the game was that lopsided," Shields said. "We got re-organized, got more offensive and got ourselves back into the game."
After Kristen Berndt, assisted by Alysse Ginkel, got Whitman on the board in the 80th minute, Corina Gabbert added a second goal five minutes later to slice the NNU lead to 3-2. "We had two more opportunities to tie the score and send the game to overtime," Shields said. "Gabbert hit the crossbar with a shot, and Berndt chipped a shot just wide of the goal."
Whitman outshot their hosts 14-9 in the second stanza. "It was a perfect non-conference game for us," Shields said. "Playing against a talented team like NNU gets us ready for the start of our conference season."
Whitman opens Northwest Conference play next weekend at home, hosting Linfield on Saturday and Pacific on Sunday. Both games start at noon at the Whitman Athletic Fields, next to DeSales High School.
Kristen Berndt and Corina Gabbert booted second-half goals and Courtney Porter made seven saves as Whitman opened its Northwest Conference women's soccer season with a 2-0 victory over Linfield Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Whitman improved to 2-2-1 on the season while Linfield slipped to 1-2-1.
Berndt, a senior and Whitman's leading scorer for the past three seasons, opened the scoring in the 57th minute, turning and blasting a left-footed laser from 22 yards out. Jennifer Doane and Dori Egan-Wright assisted on the shot, which just eluded Linfield keeper Kelsey Hasselblad.
Ten minutes later, passes from Berndt and Kendall Shibuya found Gabbert at the left side of the Linfield net. The junior forward ran onto the second pass, took the ball off her chest and then flicked the bounce into the back of the net.
"The goals by both Kristen and Corina were great, and we had other opportunities," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Their keeper made some good saves."
Linfield nearly dented the scoring column near the end of the first half. Porter turned away to two point-blank shots with just under three minutes left in the half. "Those two saves were awesome," Shields said. "Courtney earned her shutout. It's not like she had an easy day back there. Had Linfield scored right before the half, there's no way to know how the game would have changed."
Whitman finished with an 18-14 edge in shots. The Missionaries also led in shots on goal (8-7) and corner kicks (4-3).
"I pleased with the way we played today, and the way we responded to Linfield's speed and athleticism," Shields said. "We had a number of players who either didn't play today or saw limited minutes because of injuries, so we had to move a few people to new positions. Jennifer Doane and Liz Forbes did a fantastic job in the midfield, and Kristen Mittelsteadt and Kate Newman did a great job containing Linfield's speed on the outside."
"We had a lot of people play well today," Shields added. "Kendall Shibuya, one of our sophomores, got her first start and did a good job. So did Molly Gordon, Elle Burstein and Clare Robeck."
Whitman stays at home Sunday to host a noon game against Pacific, which dropped a 2-0 decision today to Whitworth in Spokane. Linfield plays at Whitworth Sunday.
Alysse Ginkel's first goal of the season with six seconds remaining in the first overtime lifted Whitman to a 2-1 sudden-death victory over Pacific in Northwest Conference women's soccer action Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
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Whitman finished the opening weekend of NWC play with records of 3-2-1 overall and 2-0 in conference. Pacific slipped to 2-3-1 and 0-2.
Ginkel, a senior forward, chipped in her game-winning goal following a scramble that ensued after Pacific keeper Anna Beebe's attempt to punt the ball away hit Whitman's Kristen Berndt in the back of the head. Clare Robeck, a first-year midfielder, collected the rebound and fed Ginkel for the easy score.
"It was an amazing sequence there at the end, but we'll take it," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "It's great to get these first two conference wins at home because we play seven of our next eight games on the road. If we can get through this next stretch of road games, we can finish strong at home."
Whitman has won its last five meetings with Pacific, including a 4-3 overtime victory last October in Walla Walla. Elle Burstein, now a Missionary sophomore, won that game with an improbable 50-yard scoring strike off a free kick.
"This was a good win today against a good team," Shields said. "Pacific was better than its record showed last year, and they are definitely a better team this year. We'll have to play a strong game if we want to beat them on their home field next month."
Pacific jumped in front 1-0 on Allysa Omana's goal in the 18th minute of the first half. Meghan Fredette's crossing pass led to the score.
Berndt, a senior forward, got Whitman even 10 minutes into the second half, getting her right foot on junior Kristen Mittelsteadt's arching corner kick. It was Berndt's third goal of the season and second in two days.
Had Ginkel not scored in the waning seconds of the first 10-minute overtime, the two sides would have played a second sudden-death 10-minute overtime. Games not settled in two overtimes are left as ties.
Shots taken by the two teams, and saves by the two keepers, were nearly dead even. Pacific outshot Whitman 20-19, but Missionaries put 11 of their shots on goal, one more than the Boxers. Beebe and her Whitman counterpart in goal, sophomore Courtney Porter, made nine saves apiece. "Both keepers did a good job," Shields said. "I know Courtney made some fantastic saves. She stuffed two Pacific breakaways that kept us in the game."
The Whitman women's soccer team suffered its first Northwest Conference setback of the season Saturday afternoon, falling 1-0 to George Fox in Newberg, Ore.
George Fox improved to 3-0 in conference and 5-1 on the season. Whitman slipped to 2-1 and 3-3-1.
"Overall, it was a fairly even game that went back and forth," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "George Fox played well and capitalized on a mistake we gave them, and we didn't capitalize on anything they gave us. That was the difference."
The Bruins scored their lone goal early in the first half on a breakaway, although Shields said it appeared that George Fox was offside on the play. Courtney Porter, Whitman's sophomore goalkeeper, got her hand on the shot, but the ball continued on a slow roll into the back of the net. "Courtney played another solid game, and she made one great save near the end of the game that kept the score at 1-0," Shields said.
"We played well enough," Shields added. "We had a lot of possession and had our chances. We had a couple of flurries inside the 18-yard box in the first half, but their keeper came up big both times. There's a reason why she's been an all-conference player."
Whitman outshot the Bruins 19-18, which included an 11-9 edge in shots on goal. Missionary senior Kristen Berndt took six shots in all, while junior Jennifer Doane put three attempts on goal.
Jessica Cardwell, the Bruins senior keeper, also made a kick save to stop another Whitman shot. Cardwell finished with 10 saves on the day, while Porter had eight stops for the Missionaries.
Whitman plays at noon Sunday at Willamette in Salem, Ore.
The defense was airtight but the offense a bit lacking as Whitman and Willamette played through 110 minutes of scoreless women's soccer Sunday afternoon in Salem, Ore.
The 0-0 double-overtime tie, Whitman's second of the season, left the Missionaries with records of 3-3-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the early Northwest Conference standings. Willamette is 1-4-1 on the season and 0-3-1 in conference play.
"It was a well fought game," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We had plenty of opportunities and plenty of shots, and we did everything but convert them."
Whitman took 14 shots, one more than Willamette. Both teams put four shots on goal.
"Our best opportunity to score came on Molly Gordon's shot in overtime," Shields said. "Their keeper made a diving save at the far post."
With four saves, Whitman keeper Courtney Porter posted her fourth shutout in eight games. "Courtney wasn't threatened too much today, but she made one really nice save midway through the second half. She seems to step up at the right time."
Whitman took nine corner kicks in the game, six of them in overtime. "That's probably most corner kicks we've evere had in a game in my time at Whitman. Kristen Mittelsteadt takes all of our corners, and she was getting worn out from those alone. She put some deadly balls in the box that we just didn't convert."
Kristen Berndt paced Whitman's offense with six shots. Corina Gabbert added three more.
"What was great about this weekend this that we're starting to get more healthy," Shields said. "We were able to move players around a little more to see what we've got. By next weekend, we'll be getting close to full strength."
Undefeated and nationally-ranked Puget Sound peppered Whitman with 30 shots, 19 of them on goal, and handed the Missionaries a 3-0 Northwest Conference defeat Saturday afternoon in Tacoma, Wash.
Now 9-0 on the season and 5-0 in conference, Puget Sound scored in the fourth minute of play and then took a 2-0 lead on a penalty kick late in the first half. Katie Gillette booted both goals for the Loggers, who closed out the scoring with a third goal with less than seven minutes left in the game.
Adrienne Folsom, who capitalized on a Whitman defensive miscommunication to notch Puget Sound's third goal, took 10 shots for the Loggers, one more than Gillette. Kristen Berndt paced Whitman's offense with five shots. The Missionaries also got two shots each from Corina Gabbert, Alisa Larson-Xu and Jennifer Doane.
"Puget Sound was definitely the better team today," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We were very flat to start the game and they really took it to us in the first half. It took us a little while to get organized and get excited about playing. Once we got going, we did some good things in the second half and were much more competitive."
The Loggers outshot Whitman 20-6 in the first half. After the break, Puget Sound took 10 more shots, but just three more than the Missionaries.
whitman keeper Courtney Porter was forced to make 10 saves in the first half. She finished with saves on 15 of Puget Sound's 19 shots on goal. The Missionaries also had one team save.
Whitman, now 2-2-1 in the NWC and 3-4-2 overall, stay in Tacoma to play Pacific Lutheran at noon Sunday.
After outshooting Pacific Lutheran 7-0 in the opening 45 minutes, Whitman traded goals with its host in the second half and eventually settled for a 1-1 double-overtime tie in Northwest Conference women's soccer action Sunday afternoon in Tacoma, Wash.
Whitman's second consecutive Sunday stalemate left the Missionaries with records of 2-2-2 in the NWC and 3-4-3 overall. The Lutes are 1-4-1 in conference and 2-6-2 on the season.
"It was a good battle," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We controlled the game in the first half, but the story was a little different in the second half. PLU came out more aggressively and got the first goal."
Pacific Lutheran took the first four shots of the second half, and the fourth attempt found net. After Christina McDuffie's shot was headed off line by a Whitman defender, Monica Beard collected the bouncing ball and found the left corner of the goal to give the Lutes a 1-0 lead.
Whitman drew even in the 83rd minute on sophomore Corina Gabbert's team-leading fourth goal of the season. "It was a really wet, rainy day, and a cross bounced all the way to the far post, where Corina was waiting and fired it home," Shields said.
Both teams took three shots in the two overtime sessions, although Whitman finished with a 13-11 edge in shots on the day. Pacific Lutheran keeper Amanda Tschauner had eight saves, one more than her Whitman counterpart, Courtney Porter. "Both keepers made some nice saves to keep the scoring low," Shields said.
Junior Molly Gordon came off the bench to put four shots on goal for Whitman. Senior Kristen Berndt and sophomore Liz Forbes took two shots apiece for the Missionaries.
Whitman has played its last four games on the road and travels to Spokane next Saturday to play Whitworth. The Missionaries then host Lewis & Clark at noon next Sunday.
Whitman cranked up its offense a bit in the second half, but it wasn't enough to erase an early deficit as the Missionaries lost 2-1 in Northwest Conference women's soccer action Saturday afternoon in Spokane, Wash.
Playing its fifth consecutive road game, Whitman saw its record fall to 2-3-3 in conference and 3-5-3 overall. Whitworth improved to 10-1 overall, which includes a 7-1 mark in the NWC.
After falling behind 2-0 in the opening half, the Missionaries cut their deficit in half soon after intermission With less than 11 minutes elapsed off the second-half clock, sophomore Kendall Shibuya took a ball up the right side and crossed a shot into the left side of the goal.
"We changed up some things at halftime and got more organized," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We played much, much better in the second half and got some quality shots on goal."
Whitman nearly knotted the score with five minutes left to play, but Kristen Berndt's shot sailed over the crossbar. The Pirates outshot the Missionaries 19-7 for the game, which included a 10-3 edge in shots on goal.
Whitman, which has struggled with injuries throughout the season, got more bad news when Molly Gordon suffered a concussion during warm-ups. Kristen Mittelsteadt then left the game early in the first half after aggravatingg an existing injury.
"Our tale of injuries seems to repeat itself every weekend," Shields said. "It would be nice to get through a weekend without having any more injuries."
The Missionaries return home for a noon game against Lewis & Clark at the Whitman Athletic Fields. The game, Whitman's first home contest in three weeks, will complete the first half of the conference schedule.
"It will be good to get back home for a game," Shields said. "We expect to play a good game."
With senior Kristen Berndt booting her second career hat trick, the Whitman women's soccer team erupted for a 6-0 Northwest Conference victory over Lewis & Clark Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Berndt, who tallied the game's first goal in the 14th minute, added two second-half scores as Whitman wrapped up the first half of NWC play with a 3-3-2 record. Improving to 4-5-3 on the season, the Missionaries dropped Lewis & Clark to 1-7 in conference and 1-8-1 overall.
Playing at home for only the fourth time this season, and for the first time in three weeks, Whitman jumped in front 3-0 by halftime and added its final two goals in the last four minutes.
"When we're at home, we should be winning and scoring goals, and that's what we did today," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "It's not easy to score when you play on the road in this conference."
The Missionaries had tickled the twine just twice in their last five road games, losing three times while securing two double-overtime ties. After returning to the road next weekend for games at Pacific and Linfield, Whitman then plays five of its last six games at home.
"It isn't going to be easy, but if we play well on the road and win our home games, we can definitely make a move up the conference standings," Shields said. Whitman starts the second of the NWC season in fifth place, just a point out of fourth and four points out of the third spot.
Whitman's Sunday onslaught began with a goal that was disallowed by an official's delayed call. Eleven minutes into the game, Jennifer Doane dribbled a ball out of the right corner, eluding two defenders, and fired a strike just inside the far post. Officials waved off the goal, however, saying the ball had gone out of bounds just prior to Doane's possession.
It took the Missionaries less than three minutes to put that mini-controversy behind them. Liz Forbes fed a ball to the top of the box for Berndt, who promptly rifled a shot into the left lower corner of the goal. Kendall Shibuya, who scored Whitman's lone goal in Saturday's 2-1 loss at Whitworth, gave the Missionaries a 2-0 lead at the 28:35 mark, nudging home a well-placed free kick from Molly Gordon.
Whitman took a 3-0 cushion into intermission after Lewis & Clark found itself victimized by an own-goal in the 33rd minute. A Pioneer defender just outside the 18-yard box got her foot on a ball that careened high into the air, sailing over Lewis & Clark keeper Nora Germano and into the net.
The Missionaries stretched their lead to 4-0 when Berndt struck again at the 62:01 mark, taking a pass from Kelsi Evans on the right side and blasting a left-footer to the far post. With just under four minutes left to play, Berndt completed her hat track with her team-leading sixth goal of the season. She split two defenders after taking a pass from Kate Newman and chipped the ball over the keeper from 25 yards out.
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It took Whitman just 43 seconds to tack on a sixth goal. Alysse Ginkel, the only senior on the roster other than Berndt, beat the keeper to a ball inside the box and knocked it home. DeeDee McCormick got the assist. "It was nice to see Alysse get that goal," Shields said. "She works tremendously hard."
The Missionaries took a total of 24 shots, putting 14 on goal. Whitman keeper Courtney Porter made three saves before giving way to Alice MacLean in the 72nd minute. Playing in her first college game, MacLean made three more saves. Lewis & Clark's Lisa Houseman nearly spoiled the shutout with about 12 minutes left, but MacLean dove to her right and knocked the ball wide.
Houseman led the Pioneer offense with seven shots, four of them on goal. Aly Robinson added three shots for the visitors, who finished 12 shots in all.
"We'll have to play well when we go to Lewis & Clark at the end of the season," Shields said. "They have a lot of speed, and they play very well on their turf field."
Corina Gabbert knocked home a pair of second-half goals and Whitman held off Pacific in the closing minutes for a 2-1 Northwest Conference soccer victory Saturday afternoon in Forest Grove, Ore.
The Missionaries improved to 4-3-2 in the NWC (5-5-3 overall) and slipped past Linfield into fourth place, just two points behind third-place George Fox. Whitman visits Linfield at noon Sunday and then plays five of its last six conference games at home.
"It's always nice to get a win on the road," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Pacific has a new field with artificial turf, so it took us a little while to get used to the surface. It was a back-and-forth game, but we played well and had control most of the time."
After a scoreless first half, Gabbert got Whitman on the scoreboard at the 69:48 mark, taking a pass from Kelsi Evans at the top of the 18-yard box. "Corina hit it high and got the shot over the keeper's head," Shields said. "It was a nice goal."
Nine minutes later, Alisa Larson-Xu played a ball through to Gabbert, who turned the pass into a breakaway and her sixth goal of season, which ties her for the team lead with senior Kristen Berndt. "Corina had been through a little scoring drought, so it's great to get her going again," Shield said.
"Once we got the two-goal lead, Pacific really pushed forward and must have had five corner kicks in the last 10 minutes of play," Shields said. With less than eight minutes left, Pacific's Kathy Post scored off one of those corner kicks, but that was it for the scoring as the Missionaries held on for the victory.
Whitman outshot the Boxers 14-10, which included an 8-3 bulge in shots on goal. Berndt took six shots for the Missionaries, putting four on goal.
Whitman edged Pacific 2-1 in overtime last month in Walla Walla. The Missionaries have now swept the season series in each of the past three years.
With sophomores Corina Gabbert and Courtney Porter leading the way, the Whitman women's soccer team put the finishing touches on a big weekend Sunday afternoon, squeaking past Linfield 1-0 in McMinnville, Ore.
Porter, the Missionary goalkeeper, shut out Linfield for the second time this season and Gabbert had the game's only goal as Whitman elevated its record to 5-3-2 in the Northwest Conference and 6-5-3 overall. The victory keeps Whitman in fourth place in the NWC standings, just two points behind George Fox. The loss leaves Linfield with records of 4-6 in conference and 5-7-1 overall.
After Porter swatted away a penalty kick with 23 minutes left in a scoreless game, Gabbert took a pass from Liz Forbes with six minutes remaining and beat Linfield's keeper for her third goal of the weekend. Gabbert, who now leads Whitman in goals with seven on the season, had both Missionary scores in Saturday's 2-0 win at Pacific.
"Two wins on the road this weekend feels good," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "It was a good day and great weekend for us. We're even more excited because we play five of our last games at home. We're beat up right now and need the rest."
Porter, who made five saves to notch her fifth shutout of the season, dove to her right to stop Martha Inouye's penalty midway through the second half. "Courtney guessed right and made a beautiful save," Shields said.
Linfield outshot Whitman 13-11, although the Missionaries had a 7-5 edge in shots on goal. "It was a good game, back and forth," Shields said. "Linfield is a good team, and they definitely played better today than we beat them 2-0 last month at our field."
Gabbert and senior Kristen Berndt took five shots apiece. "Kristen also had a good game, helping us control the tempo up front," Shields said.
With a trio of Missionaries nursing injuries on the sidelines, Shields made just two substitutions. "In the midfield, Molly Gordon played well, and Alisa Larson-Xu was a warrior all weekend," he said. "I don't she got a break in either game."
Shields also was happy with defenders Kristen Mittelsteadt, Sarah Nostdal, Elle Burstein and Kate Newman. "We defended very well today," he said.
With senior Kristen Berndt booting her 38th and 39th career goals and sophomore Liz Forbes celebrating her first collegiate strike, the Whitman women's soccer team posted its fourth straight victory with a 3-0 shutout of Willamette Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Whitman, which has outscored its last four opponents 12-1, improved to 6-3-2 in the Northwest Conference and 7-5-3 overall. The Missionaries moved into third place in the conference standings, overtaking a George Fox squad that lost 4-1 today at Whitworth.
George Fox, now 6-4-1 in the NWC, comes to Walla Walla Sunday for a noon showdown with Whitman. Willamette plays Sunday against Whitworth in Spokane.
"Front to back, we're playing some nice soccer right now," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "Our defenders are playing well, our midfielders are controlling the tempo and our forwards are being productive. We are definitely jelling as a team."
Berndt, Whitman's most prolific scorer of the past two decades, wasted little time Saturday, finding net at the 3:24 mark of the first half after parlaying passes from Corina Gabbert and Sarah Nostdal into a one-on-one opportunity against Willamette's keeper.
Midway through the second half, Whitman keeper Courtney Porter preserved Whitman's 1-0 lead when she stuffed a point-blank shot from Willamette's Kelsey Rogel. "Courtney has done that all season," Shields said. "She makes big stops when we need her the most. Had Willamette tied the score at that point, the rest of the game would have changed."
A few minutes after Porter's stop, Forbes collected a crossing pass from Alysse Ginkel and pounded home her first college goal for a 2-0 Missionary lead. With Whitman staying on the offensive, Ginkel knocked a shot off the crossbar with just over 25 minutes left.
Berndt added her team-leading eighth goal of the season with nine minutes remaining. Willamette keeper Lo Holahan, who played the final 24 minutes in goal, stopped a blast from Gabbert but then shanked the punt off one of her own defenders. Gabbert gathered the rebound and fed Berndt for an open net goal.
Whitman, who played Willamette to a 0-0 overtime draw last month in Salem, thoroughly dominated the rematch. The Missionaries outshot the Bearcats 28-10, which included an 11-2 edge in shots on goal. Gabbert took six shots and Berndt five. Ginkel and Jennifer Doane added four shots each.
Lauren Miller and Samantha Post with three shots apiece paced the Willamette attack.
Porter made two saves for her sixth shutout of the season, which ties her for the conference lead. Berndt now leads the Missionaries in scoring with eight goals and one assist. Gabbert has seven goals and two assists.
With Kristen Berndt and Courtney Porter leading the way for a second consecutive day, the Whitman women's soccer team blanked George Fox 2-0 Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Berndt booted her third and fourth goals of the weekend, and Porter nailed down her third straight shutout, as the Missionaries won their fifth consecutive decision. With four games left in the season, Whitman has sole possession of third place in the Northwest Conference with a 7-3-2 record (8-5-3 overall).
Sunday's loss leaves George Fox in fourth place with records of 6-5-1 and 9-6-1.
Ahead 1-0 at halftime, the short-handed Missionaries had their hands full for much of the second half in holding off the determined Bruins. "We were missing two starters to injury, so it made for a long day," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "We couldn't substitute as much as we wanted, and fatigue definitely was a problem in the second half. We weren't as sharp as we were in yesterday's game."
The best George Fox scoring opportunity came in the 65th minute, when Amber Stevens busted through the Missionary defense and fired a rocket that Porter, a 6-foot sophomore, deflected with a quick dive to her left. "It's not the first time this season we've seen Courtney stuff a breakaway," Shields said. "She was big for us again today."
The Bruins outshot Whitman 12-7 in the second half, forcing Porter to make five of her nine saves. The sophomore keeper now has seven shutouts on the season, tops in the NWC.
In winning its last five games, Whitman has outscored its opponents 14-1. "Courtney and our defenders are playing well," Shields said. "We haven't conceded very many goals."
The two sides battled through nearly all of the second half with Whitman clinging to its 1-0 lead. With just three minutes left to play, Alysse Ginkel crossed a pass from right to left, finding an open Berndt in the middle of the field. The senior forward sent a ball just inside the right post, netting her 41st career goal.
Berndt, who leads Whitman in scoring this season with 10 goals, notched her first goal of the game in the 22nd minute of the first half. She took flight in front of the George Fox goal, getting her head on a crossing pass from DeeDee McCormick and flicking the ball over keeper Jessica Cardwell.
Late in the first half, Berndt nearly made it 2-0 when she won the race to a long ball and chipped a shot over Cardwell that landed on the top of the netting. A few minutes later, Cardwell made a leaping stop of Corina Gabbert's free kick from about 30 yards out.
Berndt took 10 of Whitman's 17 shots, putting three attempts on goal. Gabbert added three shots on the day. "Just another great game, and great weekend, for Kristen," Shields said. "Alysse Ginkel has also played really well for us the last few weeks."
George Fox finished with 20 shots, six by Stevens. The Bruins also got four shots from Nicole Akiu and three each from Molly Schaefer and Carol Christiansen.
Kristen Berndt booted her 42nd career goal and Whitman blanked its fourth consecutive soccer opponent in a 1-0 Northwest Conference victory over Pacific Lutheran Saturday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
Solidifying its hold on third place, Whitman ran its NWC record to 8-3-2 and stays at home Sunday for a noon showdown with undefeated Puget Sound. The Loggers, 13-0 in conference after edging second-place Whitworth 3-2 today in Spokane, are ranked No. 4 nationally in the lastest NCAA Div. III coaches poll.
Berndt did the game's only scoring in the 25th minute, running onto a lob pass from Molly Gordon on the left side of the goal. The senior forward made a quick stop and then knocked the ball to the far corner of the net. "We knew we could get behind their defense if we won the ball in the midfield and then made a quick transition," Shields said. "Molly made the quick lob for Berndt, who made the quality finish, which is something she's been doing for a long time."
Whitman, winning its six straight game, outshot the Lutes 14-11, but the visitors were denied a single shot on goal. "Courtney Porter gets another shutout, but she didn't have to do as much today, other than come out on a few balls," Shields said. "Our back four did a fantastic job. They are coming together and playing well as a unit."
Missionary defenders Kristen Mittelsteadt, Sarah Nostdal, Elle Burstein and Kate Newman stayed on the field throughout the entire game. "Alisa Larson-Xu, who plays a defensive midfield position for us, also didn't get a break and played well," Shields said.
Porter, a sophomore, pushed her NWC-leading shutout total to eight. Berndt, a senior, now has 11 goals on the season, all but one of which has come in conference play.
PLU's best scoring opportunity came with about 33 minutes left in a still scoreless first half. A streaking and lunging Christina McDuffie just missed getting her head on a well-placed crossing pass in front of the Whitman goal. McDuffie and teammates Meredith Newby and Bre Greenman took two shots each for the Lutes.
Berndt took six shots for Whitman, putting three on goal. Jennifer Doane got off four shots and Corina Gabbert two. Gabbert misfied on a pair of prime scoring opportunities, including one in the second half when she beat the PLU keeper to a long ball from Berndt. Her shot missed wide right.
"After Corina beat the keeper, she didn't realize how open she was," Shields says. "She hit the ball quickly, which was the right thing to do, even though she was off balance. There are no gimmes in soccer, regardless of how wide open it might look."
PLU, now 3-9-1 in conference play, heads to Spokane for a game against Whitworth at noon Sunday.
With Janece Levien scoring a pair of first-half goals, Puget Sound kept its undefeated women's soccer season intact and clinched the Northwest Conference title with a 2-1 victory over Whitman Sunday afternoon at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
The Loggers, ranked No. 4 nationally, improved to 18-0 on the season, which includes a 14-0 mark in the NWC. Whitman, which saw its winning streak snapped at six games, is 9-6-3 overall and 8-4-2 in conference play.
The Missionaries jumped in front at the 6:15 mark of the first half, executing a quick-hitting play that ended with sophomore Corina Gabbert scoring her eighth goal of the season. Liz Forbes triggered the play with a pass to the right flank for Alysse Ginkel, who fed a quick ball to Kristen Berndt running up the middle of the field. Berndt passed the ball to the right corner of the keeper's box, where Gabbert pounded a scoring shot into the far corner of the net.
"It was a beatiful play, and Corina hit a great shot," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "That was exactly what we needed to do -- hit them quick and get a lead."
It didn't take long for the Loggers to strike back. Ten minutes later, Katie Gillette knocked a ball into the box, where a relatively open Levien booted her NWC-leading 20th goal. "We didn't have much defensive pressure on Levien, which wasn't a good idea," Shields said. "She isn't going to miss those kind opportunities, and there wasn't much our keeper could do."
Whitman's defense faltered again 10 minutes later. A Missionary defender's clearing attempt from the left side sent a ball to the middle of the box, where Levien was waiting to knock home her fifth goal of the weekend for a 2-1 Puget Sound lead. "Our defense has been playing so well lately, but unfortunately we didn't get that ball cleared. You can't give a team like Puget Sound those kind of chances."
The Loggers dominated play for much of the first half, outshooting Whitman 18-1. Of those 18 shots, however, the only two on goal were the two that hit the back of the netting. "Once we had the lead, we knew they were going to back at us hard," Shields said. "They have a lot of weapons."
The run of play was more even in the second half, with Puget Sound holding an 8-4 advantage in shots. Whitman keeper Courtney Porter finished with eight saves to keep the Missionaries close. Katie Wheeler and Kallie Wolfer split time in goal for the Loggers.
Whitman wraps up its season next week with two games, starting at 4 p.m. Friday at Lewis & Clark in Portland. The Missionaries then host Whitworth at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Puget Sound goes for an undefeated regular season next weekend, playing at George Fox on Friday and at Pacific on Saturday.
Kristen Berndt scored a pair of goals, including the game winner two minutes into overtime, to carry Whitman to a 4-3 Northwest Conference victory at Lewis & Clark Friday afternoon in Portland, Ore.
Winning for the seventh time in eight games, Whitman ran its third-place NWC record to 9-4-2 (10-6-3 overall). Lewis & Clark ended its season at 2-13-1 in conference and 2-14-2 overall.
Whitman, which hosts Whitworth in its season finale at 4 p.m. Saturday, bolted to a 3-1 halftime lead in Friday's contest before the home team rallied. "This was the final game for the Lewis & Clark seniors, and they came roaring back in the second half," Whitman coach Scott Shields said. "They weren't going to quit without a fight. They made a game out of it."
Lewis & Clark's Lisa Houseman scored in the 65th minute, trimming the Pioneer deficit to 3-2. Then, with the final seconds ticking off the clock, Whitman defenders failed to clear a loose ball in the penalty box, allowing Sophie Trick to knock home the equalizer.
Whitman struck back quickly in overtime. Berndt gathered a ball at the six-yard stripe, where the senior forward put a little extra drama into her game-winning kick. The shot bounced off one side post and then the other before hitting the net. Juniors Jennifer Doane and Sarah Nostal had assists on the play.
Berndt, who had one goal and one assist in the first half, now leads Whitman in scoring this season with 13 goals and three assists. Friday's scoring pushed her career point total past the century mark, to 102. Headed to Saturday's finale, Berndt has tallied 44 goals and 14 assists in her Whitman career.
Whitman scored Friday's first goal at the game's 11:48 mark. Doane, booting her first goal of the season, capitalized on passes from Berndt and senior Alysse Ginkel. Less than eight minutes later, sophomore Corina Gabbert nailed her ninth goal of the season, converting a pass from junior Molly Gordon, to make it 2-0 Whitman.
Lewis & Clark struck back in a hurry, scoring in the 21st minute after Katie Burnett's penalty kick bounced off the crossbar. Aly Robinson was there to knock the rebound into the net.
Whitman regained some breathing room prior to intermission, extending its lead to 3-1 in the 30th minute when Berndt lofted a high scoring shot from 15 yards out. Doane assisted on the play.
"Hats off to the the Lewis & Clark seniors," Shields said. "They have played us tough the past four years here in Portland. We're happy to get the victory today and finish in third place. That's our highest finish in several years."
Lindsey Oakes booted her eighth and ninth goals of the season to propel Whitworth past Whitman 2-0 in Saturday afternoon Northwest Conference soccer action at the Whitman Athletic Fields.
The Pirates end the regular season with a 14-2 record in the NWC, good enough for second place. Whitman finished in a third-place tie with a 9-5-2 conference mark.
Whitworth, now 17-2 on the season, got on the scoreboard early. With just 7:48 off the first-half clock, Oakes took a crossing pass from Penelope Crowe and hit the top right corner of the net from 20 yards out.
With just under 29 minutes left in the second half, Whitman's Kristen Berndt nearly squared the game at one goal apiece. Berndt, the second-leading scorer in the NWC, collected a cross from the right corner and slammed a shot from the center of the goal mouth. The ball kicked off a defender and bounced away.
Whitworth got its insurance goal about four minutes later. Passes from Jael Hagerott and Greta Thibodeau set up Oakes nicely on the right side, where she fired her second scoring strike from about 12 yards.
With the last few seconds ticking off the clock, Whitman's Corina Gabbert nearly spoiled the shutout for Whitworth keeper Krista Dietz. Gabbert, the second-leading scorer for the Missionaries this season, ran up the right side and lofted a shot that clipped the crossbar.
Whitworth outshot their hosts 29-8, which included a 9-3 edge in shots on goal. Dietz made two saves for the Pirates. Whitman keeper Courtney Porter finished with six saves.
Berndt and Alysse Ginkel, the only seniors on the Missionary roster, were honored prior to game.
Berndt, the most prolific Whitman scorer in two decades, ended her college career with 44 goals and 14 assists. She led her team in scoring in each of her four seasons, capping her senior campaign with 13 goals and three assists while playing on a bad knee.
Ginkel, who played her first seasons at Walla Walla Community College, was Whitman's third-leading scorer this season with two goals and a team-leading five assists.