SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's lacrosse team will close out the 2024 regular season this weekend with home matches against Pacific University on Saturday and Willamette University on Sunday. Both are scheduled to start at 1:00 pm.
Check the Whitworth women's lacrosse schedule for live links to this week's matches.
Senior Recognition: The Pirates will recognize the 2024 senior class before Saturday's contest against Pacific University. That presentation will take place at about 12:40 pm.
The Pirates: Whitworth (11-4 overall, 7-3 NWC) is currently in third place in the NWC standings. The Pirates are averaging 14.8 goals per game (third in the NWC) and allowing 10.3 goals per contest (also third in the NWC).
Whitworth held off visiting Whitman 13-12 last Wednesday to sweep the season series against the Blues for the first time ever. The Pirates led 6-2 after one quarter, but Whitman fought back to tie the match 11-11 with over nine minutes to play. Whitworth played excellent defense from that point, causing several turnovers and Sage Fosnock made two big saves. Campbell Vincent scored the go-ahead goal with 5:21 to go and Megan Whitman converted a free-position attempt with just over a minute to play to clinch the win. Vincent tied the school record with six goals, while Whitman had two. Rebecca Irwin and Abby Hahn had two assists apiece. Sierra Witte finished with four draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Fosnock totaled seven saves.
Whitworth dominated Saturday's 20-4 win at Puget Sound from start to finish, holding the Loggers scoreless for a 39-minute span that stretched from early in the second quarter to the final minute of the match. The Pirates controlled possession and outshot UPS 51-10 by forcing 25 turnovers and winning 19 of 26 draw controls. Irwin finished with four goals and one assist, while Kenzie Hemman also scored four times. Five other Pirates scored two goals in the balanced attack. Hemman added eight draw controls, five ground balls and four caused turnovers. Fosnock had four saves to go with only four goals allowed. Whitworth swept the season series against the Loggers for the first time.
Fosnock Honored: Sage Fosnock was selected as this week's Northwest Conference lacrosse Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week for her performance in the wins over Whitman and Puget Sound. Fosnock is the first Pirate player honored this season with a weekly award.
NWC Tournament Set Up: With one week left in the regular season the four schools have already been determined for the 2024 Northwest Conference tournament. George Fox has clinched the top seed and at least a share of the NWC title. Whitman is set as the number four seed. Currently Willamette is second and Whitworth third in the standings, but if the Pirates can pull off a win on Sunday that could change. However, it won't make a difference in the schedule for the conference playoffs. George Fox will host the event and play Whitman in the first round. Whitworth and Willamette will also match up in the first round on Saturday May 4.
Season Milestones: Whitworth has clinched several single season milestones in 2024. Most overall wins, most conference victories, first winning season, longest winning streak (4), highest-ever NWC finish.
Finding Balance: Whitworth ranks among the top 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 eighth (3.00 goals per match). The reason is balance. Eleven different Bucs have scored at least two goals this season and ten different players have scored at least 12. Vincent leads the team with 45 goals. Abby Hahn leads the team in assists (21), while Rebecca Irwin and Vincent lead the squad in total points (50 apiece).
Net Minding: Sage Fosnock ranks third in the Northwest Conference in goals against average this season, giving up 10.36 goals per contest. They rank fifth in the NWC in saves percentage, stopping 41.4% of the shots they have faced. The Whitworth defense provides a strong wall of support in front of Fosnock, limiting opponents to only 22.5 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: Pacific University comes into Saturday's match 2-12 overall and 0-10 in the NWC. The Boxers will be hungry to pick up their first NWC victory of the season. Pacific averages 5.9 goals per match and allow 17.3 goals per contest. Senior midfielder Hyland Cullen-Musengo leads the team with 24 goals despite playing in only ten of the team's matches and making only four starts. Whitworth defeated Pacific 20-4 in Forest Grove, Oregon on April 6th.
Willamette is 11-3 overall and 8-2 in the NWC heading into a contest at Whitman on Saturday. The Bearcats gave George Fox its toughest test in the NWC this season during a 15-12 loss last Saturday. They beat Linfield 19-6 on Sunday. Willamette scores 17.2 goals per match and gives up only 8.1 per contest, the fewest in the NWC. Junior attack Lily Bachiochi has 54 goals and an NWC-best 48 assists for 102 points, the second-highest total in the NWC. Five different Bearcats have scored at least 30 goals this season. Whitworth fell to Willamette 14-11 in Salem, Oregon on April 7th.
Coming up next: Whitworth will play Willamette again in the first round of the NWC tournament on May 4th at George Fox.
