NEWBERG, Ore. – Whitworth scored four goals in the first quarter at Northwest Conference champion George Fox on Sunday afternoon, but only one more goal the rest of the way in a 23-5 loss to the Bruins in the regular season lacrosse finale for both teams.

Whitworth fell to 6-11 overall and 4-8 in the NWC.  The Pirates tied Puget Sound for fourth place in the standings and claimed the fourth and final spot in next weekend's conference tournament, thanks to the league tiebreakers.  GFU (15-1, 12-0) will host the NWC tournament and get the Pirates in Saturday's semifinals.

Whitworth hung right with the Bruins in the first quarter, thanks to a pair of early goals from Megan Whitman.  Liliann Penfield and Rebecca Irwin scored back-to-back goals to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead.  George Fox scored the final two of the quarter and led 5-4 after one.

In fact, after Whitworth took its lead the Bruin scored 20 straight goals over the next three quarters.  Whitworth did not score again until Grace Curley's goal with 27 seconds to play in the match.

Ava Bluhm scored six goals to lead the Bruins, while Olivia Geyling had four goals and Kyra Barnes finished with two goals and an assist.  GFU scored 23 goals on 38 shots.

Whitworth got off nine shots in the opening quarter, but only seven over the final three periods.  The Bucs committed 18 turnovers.

In addition to her two goals, Whitman had seven draw controls and four ground balls. 

The time of next Saturday's NWC semifinal at George Fox is still to be determined.