PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis & Clark used a 6-0 third-quarter scoring run to pull out a 14-12 win over visiting Whitworth in a Northwest Conference women's lacrosse game on Friday night at Griswold Stadium.
With the win, the River Otters (10-4 overall, 5-0 NWC) have clinched a spot in the upcoming Northwest Conference tournament. The Pirates (6-8, 2-3) can still qualify for the tournament, but will need to win their final three games to do so. Whitworth plays at Willamette on Sunday.
After L&C scored the game's first goal, the Bucs scored the next three. Jordan Bennett tallied the first two to give Whitworth the lead and the first quarter ended with a 3-3 tie.
The Pirates led throughout the second quarter and opened four two-goal leads. Bennett scored her third of the game and Campbell Vincent got her first of the match on an assist from Sierra Witte. Witte tallied her only goal with 6:06 left in the half to give Whitworth an 8-6 lead, but Aviana Gonzales scored for the River Otters with a minute to play to cut the margin to 8-7 at the break.
Vincent scored early in the third to extend the Pirates' lead back to 9-7. Then L&C took over, outscoring Whitworth 6-0 over the rest of the third quarter. Gonzales scored twice and Ala Cross scored twice in the River Otters' run. By the time the period ended, the Pirates trailed 13-9.
Vincent stopped the run with a goal just over a minute into the fourth and Megan Whitman scored two and a half minutes later to trim the deficit to two. Vincent's final goal came with just under five minutes to play, cutting the margin to 13-12. Whitworth had two good chances to get the tying goal, but turned the ball over both times in the L&C crease. Rowan Levandoski's goal with 2:53 to play provided the breathing room the River Otters needed.
Whitworth held a slight edge in shots (26-23) and in ground balls (27-21), but L&C won 16 of the 28 draw controls. The Pirates were carded nine times, including a pair of yellows for May Penfield, while L&C only drew three green cards.
Vincent finished with four goals and an assist for Whitworth, while Bennett tallied three goals. Peyton Green had two goals and two assists. Whitman finished with four ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Nikki Beers led the Bucs by controlling five draws.
Gonzales had five goals and two assists for L&C, while Ala Cross scored three and assisted on five. Mack Searle won seven draws for the River Otters.
Charlotte Norton started in goal and played 45 minutes, making three saves while allowing ten goals. Kayla Jones stopped one shot and gave up four goals in the second quarter.
