SPOKANE, Wash. - The College of Saint Benedict soccer team started its season in Spokane, Wash., Friday afternoon. The Blazers, who are playing a pair of nonconference games on the west coast to kick off 2014, lost 1-0 to Whitman College in their first game of the year.
 
St. Ben's, which is ranked No. 14 in the BennettRank Season Preview and was recently picked to repeat as MIAC champions, played a scoreless first half with Whitman (1-0). The game stayed scoreless until the 52^nd minute when Whitman's Clara Merlino scored an unassisted goal from the middle of the box, and the Blazers were unable to answer with a goal of their own.
 
Blazer goalie Heather Kaluzniak made seven first-half saves to help the game scoreless for St. Ben's (0-1), and Megan Favorite came in in the second half and made one save for CSB. Whitman outshot the Blazers 12-9, including a 9-4 margin in shots on goal. Kelsey Tatarek had two shots on goal for the Blazers.
 
Saint Benedict is back in action Saturday, Aug. 30, when it takes on Whitworth College at 2 p.m. CDT in Spokane. After the west coast trip, the Blazers are back in action Sept. 6-7 on a two-game road trip to Wisconsin to take on UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire.