2008 Woodie Awards
Titans eliminate men's soccer in second round
Ryan Georgioff, Staff WriterJust one day after their thrilling 2-1 victory over Gustavus Adolphus College in the team's NCAA Division III postseason opener, the Whitworth men's soccer team swallowed a 2-0 loss to the hosting University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans Saturday, Nov. 11, eliminating them from the tournament.
During Friday's game against Gustavus Adolphus (GAC), both defenses appeared formidable, as the match progressed scoreless through the majority of the first half with only eight shots shared between the teams.
"We got off to a rough start in the first 20 minutes," Whitworth sophomore forward Elly Bulega said.
Though the Pirates were making quick drives into the Gusties end of the field throughout the half, they were finding it hard to make shots.
"After those first ten minutes when they took it to us, we felt good and confident that we could take them," senior midfielder Skye Henderson said.
GAC came up with the first score in the 59th minute when senior forward Mike Butterworth drove up the middle and slipped past Whitworth sophomore goalkeeper Scott Barnum for a point-blank shot. Barnum misplayed the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, which allowed Butterworth to play the ball past Barnum for an easy score.
Butterworth led the Gusties in total points this season.
The Pirates responded just minutes into the second half, as Bulega headed in a goal off a pass from junior defender Ben Rotert, who scooped up the ball in the mayhem following a Pirate corner kick. Bulega's goal was his first of the season.
"It feels good to score," Bulega said. "It feels like I did my job."
The game then returned to a standstill as both teams fought to break the 1-1 tie, and the time left on the clock dwindled to zero.
"Especially for today's game, we controlled the whole second half," junior midfielder Keith Kirsch said. "Going into overtime, we were excited because we were playing so much better than they were. It was better than [penalty kicks] because we had so much momentum going in there."
This momentum carried into overtime, and in the 94th minute Kirsch took down a long pass from Rotert and slipped the ball under GAC senior goalkeeper Trevor Brown to finish off the game.
Including his goal Friday, Kirsch is tied with senior midfielder Matt Friesen for the most goals this season, with seven each.
Rotert's assists were his first two of the season.
"It was definitely a team effort," Kirsch said. "A lot of guys came off the bench to make the win. We lost to Gustavus a few years ago in the final four so it meant a lot to beat them."
Whitworth faced the Gusties in the national semifinals of the 2005 tournament. Gustavus Adolphus edged the Bucs out 2-1 in that game.
"It's so nice to get some bit of revenge against them even though it's nowhere near the final four," Henderson said.
The Pirates then looked toward the game Saturday against hosts University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, in the first contest ever between the teams. The Pirates were feeling confident after the first round victory, and hopes for the game were high.
"We need to come out strong," Henderson said before the game. "The first ten minutes [Friday] we were getting outplayed. We need to start the game how we ended this one (against GAC), going at them hard."
"Hopefully all the guys that played a lot of minutes with have their legs back tomorrow," Kirsch said. "Hopefully we can take that momentum we had today and use it tomorrow."
Kirsch's words ring ironic, as the game Saturday started off with the injury of Kirsh in the first ten minutes of the game.
"The knee is pretty much done for," Kirsch said. "We tried to tape it up, and I went back out a minute later. It wasn't the smartest of ideas."
UWO struck in the 13th minute when sophomore midfielder Brian Miller crossed in from the left side to put in the score from five yards out, giving them an early 1-0 lead.
In the 43rd minute, it seemed Whitworth had tied up the score until an offsides call negated the goal.
"We didn't perform well in first half for whatever reason," Head Coach Sean Bushey said.
"We looked not very motivated," Kirsch said. "We were getting beat to the ball. It almost looked like they had more players on the field than we did."
Though the Pirates seemed to be in control for awhile in the second half, the Titans sealed their victory in 85th minute as sophomore forward Greg Jones broke free to nudge in his sixth goal of the season.
UWO held an 11-7 advantage in shots for the match, and a 4-3 edge on corner kicks.
"Overall we didn't perform as well as we could have," Bushey said. "It was a poor start, we responded in the second half but we just couldn't get the win."
The Pirates close out the season with a final record of 15-4-1 and have clinched the Northwest Conference Championship for the third time in four years.
"We're upset at the loss but glad the year worked out the way it did," Kirsch said.
UWO moves on to face Trinity University - currently the number one ranked Division III competitor with a season record of 20-0 next weekend.
"It's always tough in the playoffs," Bushey said. "Only one team comes out happy."
Contact Ryan Georgioff at ryan.georgioff@whitworthian.com.
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