The Whitman men’s and women’s soccer teams began Northwest Conference competition against the Pacific University Boxers at James Hayner Field on Sept. 20, giving the home crowd plenty of exciting action to cheer for. Both Blues squads battled hard and left the field undefeated, with the women’s team (2-1-3) tying the Boxers 1-1 and the men’s team (3-0-3) shutting out the Boxers 2-0.
The women’s team showed control over the Boxers from the jump, largely maintaining possession and creating multiple shots on goal. Halfway into the first half, they found the net, with sophomore forward Bailey Bell scoring on a shot opportunity to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.
Though the goal was unassisted and came after a lucky bounce of the ball off of a Boxers player, a crafty string of passes put Bell in a position to make a scoring play.
“It was a great team effort,” Bell said. “I was just there to be on the end of it.”
Throughout the remainder of the first half, Whitman continued to command the game and shut down scoring opportunities for Pacific University. The Blues had many scoring opportunities themselves, including a just-missed shot from senior forward Lorelei Starr. Despite consistent control of the ball in the offensive zone, Whitman was unable to convert a second goal.
During the beginning of the second half, the Blues showed the same control of game pace until about 20 minutes into the half, when Boxers junior forward Ruby Waters scored off of a header from a corner kick.
Although the Blues were unable to preserve their clean sheet, junior defender Kiki Glorioso expressed confidence in the team’s defense.
“I think we had a strong defensive game,” Glorioso said. “They had one corner and they scored on it, so I think we just have to work on those.”
In response to the Boxers’ goal, the Blues applied increased pressure on the attack. With seven minutes remaining in regulation, it appeared to pay off as a shot from Bell ricocheted off of the crossbar and past the goal line. The crowd erupted into cheers, but was quickly silenced when the goal was called off due to a handball on junior midfielder Leah Barnes.
“I’m not going to comment on the call,” Bell said. “I did my best. I thought it was a goal, but I’m going to respect the referee’s decision there and we’re going to move on.”
Head Coach Michelle Voiland liked the Blues’ strong start to the game but lamented their inability to convert on scoring opportunities.
“We’ll take the point; soccer’s a tough one,” Voiland said. “Sometimes you play really, really well and don’t walk away with the victory. I’m sure Pacific will be very happy that they got a point, especially with the fact that we dominated them.”
The men’s team controlled play in similar fashion and was able to capture three points.
The Blues controlled possession for much of the game’s opening, but the Boxers shut down their scoring opportunities. Whitman’s defense proved stout, limiting the Boxers to just three shots in the half.
The Blues’ first goal came in the second half, when junior midfielder Henry Pierce dribbled the ball in from the outside for sophomore midfielder/forward Kevin Serrano to drive home.
On the other side of the field, Whitman’s coordinated defense withstood the Boxers’ offensive push, benefitting from junior goalkeeper Niclas Isensee’s lights-out goalkeeping.
“They put a lot of balls into the box,” Isensee said. “When I didn’t have the ability to come out, my center backs and outside backs won a lot of balls in the air, and that was really helpful when you play a really direct team.”
The Blues blew the game open when first-year forward William Miranda-Ortiz, assisted by senior defender Adrian Valencia, scored his third career collegiate goal with 10 minutes left in regulation.
“We took advantage of the cross,” Miranda-Ortiz said. “The volley from Adrian was really good. I was in a good spot, and I was able to finish it.”
Head Coach Jose Cedeno expressed pride in his team’s execution of plays worked on in practice.
“The first goal was one of those goal situations where we actually talk about it,” Cedeno said. “We’ve trained on it during the week and we spoke about it at halftime, so it was great to see that the guys were listening and executing.”
Both Blues squads displayed excellent teamwork and promising displays of soccer, which translated to important point acquisitions as they move forward with NWC play.
