Whitworth soccer romps
Whitworth men’s soccer coach Sean Bushey did a bit of hand-wringing prior to his team’s match against University of Redlands.
Turns out, he needn’t have worried.
Chris Johnson scored twice and Jonathan Carlson added a pair of assists as the Pirates, ranked No. 1 in the West Region, handily dispatched the Bulldogs 4-0 in an NCAA Division III Tournament second-round match Saturday at Whitworth Field.
Playing with an altered formation, Whitworth (17-1-1) dominated Redlands from the start, pressuring the Bulldogs (17-3-2) into numerous mistakes, although Bushey, ever the worrywart, didn’t relax until the game’s final moments.
“Once we got to about the 88th minute, then I could relax a little bit,” Bushey said. “We started strong, just flying. After sitting around all week, anticipating the game, we were able to come out hard. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Changing from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-3 (three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards), Whitworth’s plan to keep the Redlands defense under constant attack worked like a charm, spearheaded by Carlson, who was everywhere, bulling through opponents and setting up teammates.
“John Carlson was dynamite,” Bushey said. “He’s the hardest-working player I’ve seen. He carried the team and the guys joined him. That was the thing, we needed that leader to come through and they joined him.”
The Pirates needed that leader because Todd Sabrowski, the Northwest Conference’s defensive player of the year, injured his hip pointer Wednesday and missed the game. His status is day-to-day, and his teammates made it a point to ensure he would have a chance to play another day.
“Todd’s a huge part of our team,” Carlson said. “Before the game we dedicated in our huddle, ‘Let’s win this one for Todd and get him back in the lineup.’ “
That first goal seemed like it might not come. The Pirates squandered a few early chances, Niko Varlamos shooting high from 16 yards in the fourth minute and Skye Henderson’s having a shot blocked in the sixth. Pirates goalkeeper Kevin Bostock was forced into a pair of saves in the 10th and 11th minutes.
But Johnson finally made the breakthrough in the 22nd minute. Sean Lambrecht headed an Ali Seyedali corner from the right side of the 6-yard box, forcing Redlands keeper Andrew Roraff into an outstanding stretch with his right hand.
The ball was cleared but quickly sent back into the Bulldogs’ 18-yard box. Roraff raced out to claim it, but was beaten to the ball by Carlson. He touched it by Roraff and sent it to Johnson standing at the penalty spot, where the junior from St. George’s calmly slotted it into the lower-right side of the net.
The second goal came again from the hard work of Carlson. The senior forward fought through two Bulldogs defenders and sent the ball to the right side of the box to Varlamos, who blasted it between Roraff and near post in the 32nd minute.
The Pirates got their third goal in the 38th minute off more pressure on the Redlands defense. Ben Dixon took a free kick from the left sideline that was headed on by Lambrecht. An attempted clear was blocked by Matthew Friesen, who then reacted quickly to curl a shot from 18 yards out into the upper-left corner of the goal.
Johnson rounded out the scoring in the 61st minute. Evan Hendrickson sent a ball from the midfield line over the top of the defense, where Johnson raced on, cut left and sent a left-footed shot past Roraff and into the bottom-right corner of the net.
The Pirates will find out either tonight or Monday morning where and when their next action will take place.