SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University claimed the first home lacrosse victory in school history with an 11-8 win over visiting Pacific University on Sunday afternoon in the Pine Bowl.

The Pirates, who had already won four times away from home this season, improved to 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the NWC.  Whitworth had not won a match in the Pine Bowl since starting play in 2019.  All previous wins had come on the road and the Pirates went 0-10 in 2021.

The Boxers fell to 2-10, 0-8.  The Bucs swept Pacific this season.

The first quarter started slowly for both teams and ended 1-1.  Rebecca Irwin scored for the Bucs two minutes into the match, but Whitworth's offense went quiet for the rest of the period.  Billie Merriam scored in the first for Pacific.

The second period was just as tightly contested, but with more goals.  After Mackenzie Grover scored to give the Boxers a 2-1 lead, Liliann Penfield answered for Whitworth at 9:20 of the second to end a nearly 20-minute scoring drought.  Anna Chase added a goal two minutes later.  Hyland Cullen-Musengo tied the match for Pacific at 3-3.  Madison Perry scored for the Pirates, but Cullen Musengo answered only ten seconds later for the Boxers.  Kenzie Hemman scored with less than a minute to play in the half, but Cullen-Musengo scored her third straight with only five seconds to play.

As they have for much of the season, the Pirates came out strong in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 4-0.  Irwin scored a pair of player-up goals, while Hemman and Abby Hahn also scored for the Bucs.  Whitworth controlled much of the possession in the period.

Pacific scored early in the fourth to trim the margin to 9-6 and was up a player after a Pirate yellow card.  But Perry scored a short-handed goal midway through the fourth to extend the lead back to 10-6.  Kylee Walker scored Whitworth's final goal to give the Bucs an 11-7 advantage. Merriam scored the final Pacific goal, but less than three minutes remained and Whitworth ran out the clock.

Irwin led the Pirates with three goals, while Perry and Hemman had two each.  Hannah Lew allowed three goals and made four saves, while Sage Fosnock gave up five goals and stopped three shots.

Whitworth outshot Pacific 31-19.  The Boxers had a slight edge in draw controls.

Whitworth will host Whitman on Wednesday afternoon (4:00 pm), looking to follow up on last Wednesday's exciting 22-21 victory.