The Whitworthian

Issue date: 9/25/07

The Whitworth men's soccer squad improved to 4-0 in conference play this weekend, defeating both Willamette University and George Fox University on the road in Oregon.

The Pirates continue to roll, winning their sixth game of the year. Sophomore midfielder Brent Zahn said this is a dream start to the season for the team.

"We couldn't ask for much better," Zahn said. "Starting undefeated with zero goals against is right where we want to be."

Forward Keith Kirsch tallied one goal and one assist Sept. 22 against Willamette to lead the Pirates to a 3-0 victory. Zahn said the game was a constant track meet, as both teams sped up and down the field the whole game.

"The game was back and forth," Zahn said. "Everyone was doing a lot of work, especially the outside midfielders."

Senior midfielder Matt Friesen assisted on the first goal by junior defender Ben Rotert in the eighth minute. Rotert scored with a header after Friesen whipped a corner kick into the box.

In the 60th minute, senior midfielder Ryan Powers dished a pass to Kirsch, who beat Willamette goalkeeper Scott Klein from five yards out to score Whitworth's second goal of the match.

Friesen scored the final goal in the 74th minute. Zahn and sophomore forward Mickey Webb assisted on the play.

The Pirates rocketed 18 shots on the day, forcing five saves by Klein.

On Sunday, Whitworth defeated George Fox 2-0 to improve their unbeaten streak to six games.

Newberg natives Charlie Bone, Powers, and Friesen all started for the Pirates in front of their hometown crowd.

Zahn assisted on both goals for the Pirates. The first goal came on a cross by Zahn to Skye Henderson, who headed the ball to Powers for the score. The goal was Powers' third on the season, and gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute.

In the second half, Zahn's pass to Kirsch led to a Friesen goal. Friesen, who started at forward during Sunday's game, scored in the 69th minute after returning to his usual spot in the midfield. Friesen added to his team-leading goal total this season at five. Kirsch is second on the team in points with three goals and three assists to date. Zahn tallied his third and fourth assists of the year. All four assists have come in the past four games for Whitworth.

The Pirates dominated the run of play, ripping 19 total shots and earning 10 corner kicks. Friesen underscored the importance of Sunday's win on the road.

"It was important to get a solid win. Fox is tough at home on a smaller field," Friesen said.

Along with going unbeaten in Northwest Conference play and recording six straight wins, the win over George Fox is Whitworth's fifth shutout in a row. While Whitworth recorded 17 shots on goal this weekend, the team's defense held their opponents to only five shots, allowing goalkeeper Scott Barnum to collect his fifth and sixth scoreless games of the year. Kirsch explained the importance of the Pirates strong defense during their string of wins.

"Our defense is the key," Kirsch said. "It takes the pressure off the rest of the team when our defense is playing so well."

Zahn was able to simplify the team's key to winning even more.

"It's just people doing their jobs," Zahn said.

With a good start on the road, Whitworth looks toward next weekend when they will travel to face both Pacific Lutheran University and defending NWC champions University of Puget Sound. Both teams were preseason favorites to win the conference ahead of Whitworth. The Pirates, who currently hold the conference lead, were picked to finish third.

"It was critical for us to win our first two league games on the road," Kirsch said. "It sets us up real nicely for next weekend."

Zahn said a few things could be important looking forward to PLU and UPS next weekend.

"We have to keep the defense strong, move the ball well and score some goals," Zahn said.

Both games will be played in Tacoma starting at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 29-30.

Contact JC McAleavey at jc.mcaleavey@whitworthian.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools

The Whitworthian encourages readers to comment on any content on the whitworthian.com. Article comments can be posted by anyone. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinion of The Whitworthian, its editors or its staff. The Whitworthian strives to monitor and delete comments with profanity, advertisements, obscenity, plagiarism, personal attacks, threats of violence or that violate the law or common decency. However, since The Whitworthian does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not find offensive or inaccurate comments on occasion.

For this reason, The Whitworthian asks readers to be responsible and respectful in any comments posted. The responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not the whitworthian.com. Readers are also encouraged to report questionable comments by e-mailing editor@whitworthian.com.