THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Kenzie Hemman scored five goals and Rebecca Irwin tallied two late goals to lead visiting Whitworth to a 17-14 win at California Lutheran in a non-conference women's lacrosse match on Friday night at Oak Park High School.
The Pirates improved to 7-1, setting a new team high-water mark for victories in one season. The Bucs finished 6-12 in 2023 for their previous season-high win total.
Whitworth jumped out to a 5-0 lead late in the first quarter. Irwin scored in the first minute and Hemman got her first goal four minutes later. Campbell Vincent, Jordan Bennett and Kenison Turner followed for the big early lead. But CLU (3-7) scored twice in the final minute of the quarter to spark a comeback.
The Regals outscored the Pirates 6-3 in the second and had two one-goal leads just before halftime. Vincent's goal tied the contest at 7-7 and Hemman's goal made it 8-8 with less than a minute to play in the first half.
After the teams traded goals to open the third quarter, Whitworth got three straight goals for a 12-9 lead. Hemman, Vincent and Turner each had one. CLU responded with three in a row to retie the match 12-12. Josie Oparanaku had two of those. Megan Whitman's goal with one minute left in the third put the Pirates ahead 13-12 headed to the final period.
Whitworth scored the first two of the fourth quarter to retake a three-goal advantage. Turner scored on the Bucs' opening possession of the fourth quarter and Hemman scored again four minutes later. Whitworth held a 15-14 lead with just over five minutes to play when Irwin turned a CLU giveaway into a breakaway goal. Irwin tallied a final insurance goal with 2:08 left in the match.
As they have all season, the Pirates finished with an advantage in draw controls – 21-14. Turnovers were event (24-24) and the Bucs only had a slight edge in shots (30-29).
Hemman added ten draw controls and four ground balls to her career-high total of five goals. Vincent added four goals, while Irwin and Turner had three apiece. Sage Fosnock made 10 saves.
Oparanaku finished with five goals and Sydney Shin had four for the Regals.
Whitworth will take on the University of Redlands (Calif.) on Friday night at 7:00 pm.
