College soccer: GU men’s coach Einar Thorarinsson set to begin 20th season

Entering his 20th season as Gonzaga’s men’s soccer coach, Einar Thorarinsson’s favorite memories have more to do with his players than the matches they played.

“It’s gone by fast,” said Thorarinsson, who was born in Iceland but has spent the last 28 years in Spokane. After four years at East Valley High School, he also coached in the United States Olympic Development Program since 1990 and coached the Shadow for a year.

The best memories are the ones carved out at Gonzaga, where Thorarinsson took over in 1996 following a successful nine-year run at Whitworth. The upset of top-ranked Creighton in 1999 and of No. 5 Virginia that same season, and an NCAA tournament berth in 2007.

“It’s all about the players – so many good players and good people,” said Thorarinsson.

Picked to finish sixth in the rugged West Coast Conference, the Bulldogs return eight starters – none of them seniors – and 16 letter winners from a team that finished 3-3-1 in the WCC and 5-12-1 overall . They include nine upperclassmen and 10 sophomores.

“We’re young with a lot of enthusiasm,” Thorarinsson said.

The Zags return eight starters, including three of their top five scorers from last season. Sophomore Graison Le tied for the team points lead with two goals and three assists, while returning sophomore Jakob Granlund and senior Connor Bevans each had two goals and two assists.

Other returning starters include Ben White, Jalen Crisler, Thomas O’Brien, David Sigurdsson and Fischer Gallinger.

The strength appears to be on defense. After giving up just 10 goals in their last nine matches last year, the Zags picked up where they left off: Last weekend in Seattle, they knocked off Seattle 1-0 one day after falling at 10th-ranked Washington by the same score.

“The guys are fighting for each other defensively – we’re very active and hard to break down,” Thorarinsson said.

The Bulldogs’ first home match is Thursday against Cal Poly.

Whitworth men look to build on success

Even by Whitworth standards, 2014 was a special season. The Pirates won the Northwest Conference title, reached the round of 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament and finished 17-2-3 – the third-best win percentage in school history.

Coach Morgan Cathey isn’t complacent, despite the loss of 11 seniors, including All-America forward Micheal Ramos. “We have lofty goals for this group. We feel we are reaching new heights within our system and how we create quality chances,” Cathey said.

Ranked 14th in the preseason polls, the Pirates also are picked to repeat as NWC champs. Cathey will be relying on a strong midfield led by all-NWC first-team pick Sam Engle and returning starter Samual Jarrett. Midfielders Eric Espinoza, Kash Choudhary, Jonah Snyder, Austin Cassity and David Starkovich also saw playing time last year.

In the back, Spencer Wolfe and Aaron Yagani add valuable experience in front of returning goalkeeper Timmy Costa (14 starts and a 0.83 goals-against average in 14 starts) and Tony Watters (0.87 goals against in eight matches).

Up front, the Pirates will count on all-NWC second-teamers Karl Muelheims and Rylan Berriman.

The Pirates will begin the season by hosting a four-team tournament at the Whitworth Soccer Field on Friday and Saturday.

Whitworth women hope to rebound

The Pirates hope to build on a strong finish to last year’s 8-11-1 season. After a slow start, Whitworth won four of their last five matches to finish 7-9 in the NWC.

“We started clicking toward the end of last season, and we want to build on that momentum from the start this year,” head coach Jael Hagerott said.

The Pirates lost just three seniors to graduation, and return a trio of all-NWC players.

Forward Tiara Pajimola, a three-time honoree, was moved to defense late last year but led the offense with four match-winning goals,

Goalkeeper Andrea Stump earned all-NWC honors for the the third straight year and is coming off a 0.88 goals-against average.

The Pirate defense conceded more than two goals just twice last year; Hannah Langbehn will be a key contributor.

The Pirates return eight additional players who started at least half of the matches Whitworth played last season.