The Whitworth Pirates traveled to Morse Field Saturday, Oct. 25 at George Fox University in Newberg, Ore., and secured a conference win against the Bruins in overtime. The final score was 1-0 and the win put the Pirates 8-1-1 in conference play. The win over the Bruins also set the Pirates up beautifully in their chase for the conference title.
The score was 0-0 throughout the game although there were many opportunities on the Pirate’s end for goals.
Sophomore Justin Meyer, who transferred from George Fox and was an honorable mention all conference player there his freshman year, was one who nearly scored but just barely missed.
In the last 30 seconds of the game there was superfluous intensity on both sides when it seemed as if the Bruins would score. But much to Pirate avail, they were no more capable of finishing than the Pirates themselves and at the end of regulation, the score remained tied.
Entering overtime, something the Pirates have grown accustomed to, the Pirates kept their cool.
Five minutes into overtime, sophomore midfielder Taylor Willi sealed the deal for the Pirates with a shot turned assist to senior forward Keith Kirsch.
Whitworth was offensively in control nearly the entire game. They outshot the Bruins 10-1 in the first half and then 13-4 in the second half.
The Pirates had seven corner kick opportunities throughout the game compared to the Bruins, who had none, proving that both teams performed well defensively despite the lack of completion on the offensive ends of the field.
Sunday the men battled the Pacific University Boxers, the team with whom they share the conference lead.
Neither team could finish what they started Sunday but the defense on both sides proved integral.
While the Boxer defense kept the Pirates without a shot in the first half, Whitworth sophomore goalkeeper Brian Sherpe was kept on his toes.
Sherpe successfully deflected all four of the Boxers’ first half attempts, two of which came from sophomore midfielder Patrick Murray, a shot from the end line in the 31st minute and another spectacular save on the part of Sherpe, a diving header by forward midfielder Jorge Mandujano in the 32nd minute.
Both teams scoreless going into the second half, the Pirates were well aware that they had their work cut out for them.
The Boxers were unable to turn shots into goals in the first half, but the Pirates knew that the most dangerous offense in the league wouldn’t quit at halftime.
The Boxers outshot the Pirates 20-7. But while the stats may appear monotonous, the match consisted of extremely physical play throughout regulation and both overtime periods. Resulting in 43 fouls called and six yellow cards issued between the two sides.
The Boxer defense appeared to do all the work Sunday but Boxer junior keeper Andrew Stevermer watched, from the open net, his current scoreless streak rise to 864 minutes. Stevermer has not been scored on since the Boxer’s game against Whitman on Sept. 20.
This match against Whitworth was Stevermer’s ninth shutout of the season, which put him in a tie for the Pacific single season record set in 1985 by Norm Rothwell.
Pacific also finishes the season with an undefeated home record and ties the single season record of consecutive matches without a loss set by their 1996 alumni.
And while they continue to share the conference lead, the Whitworth Pirates and the Pacific University Boxers will go their separate directions next weekend only to reunite soon enough.
The Boxers travel to Tacoma next weekend where they will play third-place Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and fourth-place Puget Sound on Sunday.
Whitworth will return to Oregon next weekend to face Willamette on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and Linfield on Sunday also at 1:30 p.m.
The men conclude the their pursuit of the NWC conference lead for two more weeks and end with a game at home on Nov. 7 against Whitman College at 1:30 p.m.
Contact Julia Bechtold at julia.bechtold@whitworthian.com.
Men’s soccer 8-1-2 in NWC
Published: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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Sherpe
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