SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's lacrosse team will spend its spring break in Southern California this week. The Pirates will take on California Lutheran University on Wednesday (5:00 pm) before finishing the trip at the University of Redlands on Friday (7:00 pm).
Check the Whitworth women's lacrosse schedule for live links to this week's matches.
The Pirates: Whitworth (6-1 overall, 3-1 NWC) tied the school record for victories in one season with two Northwest Conference wins last week. It ties the record set in 2023 when the Bucs finished 6-12. The Pirates are averaging 16.3 goals per game (second in the NWC) and allowing 8.6 goals per contest (first in the NWC).
Whitworth won 20-9 at Whitman last Wednesday after jumping ahead 8-2 in the first quarter. After the Blues closed within 14-9 midway through the third quarter, the Pirates outscored Whitman 6-0 the rest of the way and held the Blues scoreless for the final 22 minutes of the match. Abby Hahn had four goals and two assists, Campbell Vincent had four goals and one assist and Jordyn Bennett finished with four goals. Sage Fosnock made five saves.
The Pirates dominated the third quarter in Saturday's 16-5 win over visiting Puget Sound, Whitworth's first-ever win over the Loggers in Spokane. The Bucs turned an 8-3 lead into a 13-3 advantage by the end of the third period. Whitworth dominated possession thanks to a 20-4 advantage in draw controls. Kenzie Hemman was all over the field with three goals, three assists, three ground balls and six draw controls. Kennison Turner also scored three times. For the third time this season, Fosnock had more saves (6) than goals allowed (5).
Finding Balance: Whitworth ranks among the top two scoring teams in the Northwest Conference in 2024, but the Pirates have only one player among the top ten individual scorers in the NWC – Campbell Vincent is ninth (2.86 goals per match). The reason is balance. Eleven different Bucs have scored at least two this season and nine different players average at least a goal per contest. Vincent leads the team with 20 goals. Abby Hahn leads the team in assists (11).
Net Minding: Sage Fosnock leads the Northwest Conference in goals against average this season, giving up 8.69 goals per contest. They rank second in the NWC in saves percentage, stopping 45.5% of the shots they have faced. The Whitworth defense provides a strong wall of support in front of Fosnock, limiting opponents to only 20.1 shots per game this season.
Milestone Opener: Whitworth won its season opener for the first time in school history, defeating Eastern Oregon 21-5 on Feb. 17. The Pirates started playing lacrosse in 2019 and had never won the first match of the season until this year. The 16-goal margin of victory was also the largest-ever for the Bucs, surpassing the 14-goal margin during a 19-5 win over Whitman in 2020.
Hot Start: Whitworth's 4-0 start was the best in school history and marked the first time the Pirates had ever won four straight matches at any point in a season.
The Opponents: Cal Lutheran is very improved this season, even at 3-6. Those three wins are the first three on-field victories for the Regals in school history. Sophomore Sydney Shin leads the team this season with 26 goals and nine assists. Whitworth defeated CLU 13-3 in Thousand Oaks last season.
Redlands is 5-4 and significantly improved over 2023 when the Bulldogs finished 4-12. Sophomore Emily Webster has 38 goals and nine assists in 2024. Whitworth and Redlands have never played in lacrosse.
Coming up next: Whitworth will return to Northwest Conference play on April 6-7 with matches at Pacific (Ore.) and Willamette to close out the first half of its league schedule.
