Whitman Soccer Teams Home for Weekend

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Both Missionary soccer teams will look to move up the Northwest Conference standings when they host a series of four games this weekend at the Whitman Athletic Fields.

Pacific provides the opposition on Saturday, starting with the women's game at noon. The men's battle follows at about 2:30 p.m.

George Fox is the opponent on Sunday with game times staying the same.

Saturday: Whitman vs. Pacific

Women's Game: Pacific, which comes to town with records of 5-4-1 in NWC and 5-7-2 overall, nipped Whitman 2-1 earlier this season in Forest Grove, Ore.

The Boxers scored the first two goals in that game, getting the second tally just 27 seconds into the second half. Whitman sophomore Julianne Masser cut the lead in half with an unassisted goal with 11-plus minutes left to play, but that was it for the scoring.

Erin Flannery on ball, Kate Potter

Pacific has stumbled a bit in recent weeks, getting outscored 11-1 in its last three games with two losses and an overtime tie. The Boxers have lost four of seven road games this season.

Whitman has had its own problems, losing its last three games by scores of 3-0, 1-0 and 1-0. The Missionaries, who have won three of five at home this season, head to the weekend with records of 3-8 in the NWC and 5-9 on the season.

Masser and first-year sophomore  Marisa Poorboy continue to lead Whitman in scoring with 10 points apiece. Masser has five goals while Poorboy has four goals and two assists.

Junior Amy Hasson has three goals and one assist. Marisol Fonzeca, also a junior, has two goals while sophomore Jaclyn Rudd and first-year teammates Kelsey Roehner and Hallie Swan each have one goal.

Jenny Novak leads Pacific in scoring with four goals and one assist. Ashley Kanda has three goals for the Boxers while Jordan Bodily has added two goals and two assists.

The two teams split their season series last year. Whitman won 2-0 in Walla Walla with Kristin Innes and Libby Watkins contributing a goal and an assist, respectively. The Boxers won 1-0 on their home field.

Kate Newman assisted on two goals in Whitman's 2-0 home-field victory over Pacific in 2008.

Men's Game: The Pacific men come to Walla Walla in first place in the NWC with a record of 7-1-1 (11-1-2 overall). They have outscored their opponents by a combined 30-8 margin, and goalkeeper Andrew Stevermer has seven shutouts.

John Fleming

Earlier this season in Forest Grove, the Boxers blanked Whitman 4-0, scoring four times in the second half. Two of those goals came in the final eight minutes.

Whitman, which has two wins and a tie in its last three games (all on the road), plays all five of its final regular season games at home.

With 14 points in the standings on the strength of a 4-3-2 NWC record, Whitman is just one point out of third place and four points out of second. The Missionaries are 6-6-3 on the season.

Junior Sam Freedman, who has Whitman's last two game-winning goals, leads the team in scoring with five goals and one assist. Sophomore Leland Matthaeus has three goals and four assists while freshman Michael Axelson has four goals and one assist.

Senior Conner Bottomly has added three goals and three assists, and sophomore Jed Jacobson has a pair of goals. Juniors Brian Percival and Nathan Ord each have three assists.

Senior Tim Shu and first-year sophomore Michael Bathurst have played the bulk of minutes in goal for Whitman this season. Shu has three shutouts and Bathurst two. Sophomore Devin Kuh has one shutout.

Kizamu Tsutakawa tops the Boxers in scoring with seven goals and two assists. Sean Mills and Avery Neal both have four goals and three assists. Nick Rudella has booted four goals, and Jasen Jaihouni has two goals and six assists.

Prior to this fall, Whitman and Pacific split their six previous games -- two wins for each side plus two ties.

Sunday: Whitman vs. George Fox

George Fox women: The Bruins take records of 2-7-1 (NWC) and 3-8-3 to Spokane to play Whitworth on Saturday.

Marisa Poorboy

In their last nine games, starting with a 1-0 loss to Whitman in mid-September in Newberg, Ore., the George Fox women are 1-7-1. The Bruins have been outscored this fall by a 22-10 margin.

Kirsten Cardwell has four goals and one assist to lead the Bruins in scoring. Melanie Gaither and Cori Jo Young have two goals each.

Marisa Poorboy had the lone goal to power Whitman's victory over George Fox last month. First-year Missionary goalkeeper Emily Davis made one save against five shots to get the shutout in that game.

Whitman has dominated the Bruins in recent years, winning seven of the last eight meetings between the two schools.

George Fox men: The George Fox men, who also play their Whitworth counterparts on Saturday in Spokane, have struggled in a big way this season, posting records of 0-8-1 in the NWC and 0-10-2 on the season.

Leland Matthaeus

The Bruins have stayed close in a handful of their NWC games, losing 1-0 to Linfield and 2-0 to four other schools, one of them Whitman.

The Missionaries got goals from Leland Matthaeus and Sam Freedman (assists to Conner Bottomly in both cases) in their win last month in Newberg. Tim Shu made four saves against nine George Fox shots to get the shutout.

A year ago, Whitman downed the Bruins 3-2 in Walla Walla with Freedman contributing a goal and an assist. Brian Percival also scored while Matthaeus added an assist. George Fox won last fall at home, however, beating the Missionaries 2-1.

Prior to 2009, Whitman won three of the previous four games between the two schools with the fourth contest ending in a draw.

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu