SALEM, Ore. – The Whitworth lacrosse team came up just two goals short in their bid to defeat a third Northwest Conference opponent for the first time ever in 2023.  Willamette held off the visiting Pirates 17-15 on Saturday afternoon at Sparks Field.

Whitworth fell to 6-10 overall and 4-7 in the NWC while the Bearcats improved to 11-4, 8-3.  Willamette hosts Whitman (12-4, 9-2) in a battle for second place on Sunday, while the Pirates travel to NWC champion George Fox (14-1, 11-0).

Willamette jumped ahead 3-0 in the first five minutes before Whitworth got on the board with Sierra Witte's unassisted goal.  The Pirates trailed 4-2 after one period when Rebecca Irwin scored in the final five minutes.

When the Bearcats scored the first four goals of the second quarter to open an 8-2 lead, it looked like the match might get away from Whitworth.  The Pirates responded by scoring three of the next four goals to get within 9-5 at halftime.  Megan Whitman had one and Grace Curley scored another before Witte tallied her second of the match with only 31 seconds left in the period.

Willamette went up 11-5 midway through the third, but the Pirates scored three straight in a two-minute stretch to cut the margin to 11-8.  Kenzie Hemman got her first of the match and Whitman scored two straight.  Maddie Garcia scored for the Bearcats to give Willamette a 12-8 lead heading to the final period.

Nikki Beers scored two in a row to pull Whitworth within 15-12 with 7:25 to play.  Tati Klenck tallied two straight for Willamette, but the Pirates continued to fight.  Whitman, Curley and Beers all scored again to pull Whitworth within two, but the final goal came with only 16 seconds to play in the match.

Whitworth outshot Willamette 36-32 and dominated draw controls 27-10.  The Pirates committed 20 turnovers.

Whitman led Whitworth with four goals, giving her 29 for the season and breaking the Pirates' record for goals in one year, set last season by Madison Perry (27).  Curley finished with three goals and a team-high three assists, while Beers also tallied three goals.

Whitman and Kenzie Hemman each had nine of Whitworth's draw controls.  Hemman now has 100 in her career, becoming only the second Pirate to reach that mark.

Previously this season, Whitworth defeated Linfield and Puget Sound for the first time in school history.