After scoring 24 goals and becoming the record holder for most goals scored in one season at Whitworth during his season last year, junior Cole Friesen broke the record for most career goals in Whitworth men’s soccer history during his game against Lewis and Clark on Oct. 5.
Friesen knew he was going to break the record during this game. “[Lewis and Clark] hasn’t won a game this season,” Friesen explained. “I kind of figured that I was going to get the record that game, but I went into it like every other game. I need to play well and score regardless of how good they are.”
Assistant Coach Karl Muelheims previously held the record with 38 goals scored during his career at Whitworth until Friesen broke the record after he scored his 39th season goal in just the first minute of the game. “It was in our first attack,” explained Friesen as he and senior Becket Arthur worked the ball up the field together. “Becket Arthur crossed it, and it went past the keeper wide. I turned and didn’t really have anyone to play it to, so I shot it into the corner.”
Friesen has seen a lot of success over his career at Whitworth; however, his relationship with soccer dates back to his childhood. From San Diego, Friesen got into soccer because of his dad, who coaches at San Diego State University. “I just grew up playing with him. And when I started getting older and getting better, I knew I wanted to play soccer in college,” said Friesen. “I decided that I wanted to go [to] a small Christian college pretty early because faith is pretty important to me.” Friesen found out about Whitworth from a player on his club team who is also currently one of the Whitworth men’s coaches. Friesen played on varsity for his high school team, as well as for the Surf soccer club team of San Diego.
During his freshman year at Whitworth, Friesen had the start of a successful season. He was a starting forward and had already scored three goals in the first four games of the 2022 season; however, during that fourth game, Friesen became injured. He broke his collarbone and was out for the rest of the season. “That was really tough,” explained Friesen regarding his injury. “I had come [to Whitworth] for soccer and away from my family, and it was tough to feel kind of isolated that first year. But with this group of guys, I was able to overcome that and obviously have success these past two years.”
In Friesen’s second year at Whitworth, he saw great success quickly. He was the Northwest Conference’s Player of the Week five times and earned NWC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 24 goals and becoming Whitworth’s single-season goal-scoring record holder. Friesen saw national success, too, as he finished as the runner-up in goals scored in all of NCAA Division III and also won second-team all-region last year by United Soccer Coaches. Friesen is continuing his success this year as he breaks more records and will receive more recognition as the soccer season comes to an end.
“I want to be known as a good player,” explained Friesen. He has one more season to leave his legacy at Whitworth. “I feel like I’m pretty humble, and I want to be known that I was good, but that I was a good teammate too.” The Whitworth men’s team is close and has a lot of support. “It’s been a great last two years with this team,” said Friesen. “It’s one of the only teams I’ve ever been on where everybody is friends and liked each other on and off of the field.”
With local Spokane soccer legend Kevin Moon as the men’s head coach and the rest of the coaching staff offering their support, the men’s soccer team hopes to finish their season strong and build off of their season for next year. Friesen spoke on behalf of the men’s team as he believes that Moon and the coaching staff are shaping the team into what they think will see the most success.
