Bearcats Open NWC Season on the Road Versus Whitman & Whitworth

By Mark Colachico, Interim Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University mens soccer team will open Northwest Conference play this weekend - Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 20 & 21 - against Whitman College (Wash.) and preseason favorite Whitworth University (Wash.). Both games will kick off at 2:30 p.m. (PST) on the east side of Washington in Walla Walla and Spokane, respectively.

With this weekend's games, the Bearcats have played six of their first eight games on the road. Willamette is 2-2 in its first four road games, including a 2-1 victory over The Evergreen State College (Wash.) to close out its season-opening four-game road trip.

Willamette is coming off an 11-0 victory Saturday over Multnomah University (Ore.), as the Bearcats tied a 32-year-old record for most goals in a single game. The 1982 Bearcat squad scored 11 goals against Linfield to set the record before this year's team equaled that record behind a hat trick and one assist by Yazan Hishmeh (Jr., F, Ventura, CA/Saint Bonaventure HS). Eight other Bearcats scored against the Lions, while Tyler Yates (Jr., F, Kailua-Kona, HI/Kealakehe HS) handed out a team-high three assists. A quartet of goalkeepers - Braydon Calder (Jr., GK, Philomath, OR/Philomath HS), Julian Juarez (Jr., GK, Honolulu, HI/Punahou School), Josh Fuentes (So., GK, Salem, OR/South Salem HS), and Quinn Nottage (Fr., GK, Portland, OR/Franklin HS) - manned the net for the Bearcats combining for just one save during the game.

So far this season, Hishmeh leads the team with four goals to go along with a pair of goals by Alan Hernandez (Fr., F, Tigard, OR/Tigard HS) and Jesse Thompson (Jr., F, Santa Ynez, CA/Santa Ynez Valley Union HS). Yates' three assists leads the team, while seven other Bearcats have handed out one assist each so far this season. All four goalkeepers have seen at least 17 minutes in net this year, as Calder has logged the most minutes with 323-plus to go along with 18 saves and a goals against average (GAA) of 1.67.

Whitman comes into Saturday's game riding a three-game winning streak, as the Missionaries are 3-2 overall. Alex Barsher leads the team with two goals, while Noah Cavanaugh and Daniel Kim have handed out a team-best two assists each. Between the pipes, Whitman has used a trio of goalkeepers - Milo Cantor, Niko Contos, and Stuart Ellsworth - to register a combined 26 saves. The senior duo of Contos and Ellsworth have seen the majority of the minutes, as Contos has a GAA of 0.98 that ranks second in the NWC.

Whitworth, who are the defending champions and preseason favorite, enter Sunday's game with a perfect 5-0 record following a neutral site victory over UC-Santa Cruz, 3-2, earlier this week in Salem. Michael Ramos is the team leader in goals (5), assists (4), and points (14), which ranks in the Top 2 in each category in the Northwest Conference. Tony Watters and Shane Nishioka-Healy have both seen time in goal this season for the Pirates, as Watters has the majority of the work with over 366 minutes, 17 saves, and a GAA of 1.23.

Following this weekend's opening NWC games on the road, Willamette returns home on Saturday & Sunday, September 27 & 28, against Pacific Lutheran University (Wash.) and the University of Puget Sound (Wash.). Both games begin at 2:30 p.m. (PST) on Sparks Field.