Ohsman and Piros each Score Twice, but Bearcats Fall to Loggers, 10-6

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

TACOMA, Wash. -- Anabel Ohsman (So., ATT, Shohomish, WA/Glacier Peak HS) and Miranda Piros (Fr., MID, Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) each scored two goals for Willamette University, but University of Puget Sound outscored the Bearcats, 10-6, in a Northwest Conference game on Wednesday, April 10. Puget Sound improved to 6-5 on the season, 4-4 in the NWC. Willamette fell to 4-8 overall, 2-5 in the NWC.

"It was a tough one. We knew it would be a close game," Willamette Head Coach Sarah Lautenbach said. "Despite missing a number of players, we executed some of our best defense all year. Unfortunately, Puget Sound was able to exploit our mistakes and poor decisions with the ball. We beat ourselves with turnovers."

The Loggers earned the first three goals of the game, but Willamette cut the margin to 5-4 at halftime. After the break, Puget Sound registered two goals for a 7-4 advantage. The Bearcats pulled within 8-6 with 7:39 to go, but two goals by Hannah Nichols in the final five minutes clinched the win for the Loggers. Puget Sound swept the season series. The Loggers defeated Willamette, 8-5, in Salem, Oregon, on March 17.

In Wednesday's rematch, Jenna Kisner opened the scoring for the Loggers at 26:34 on an unassisted goal. Just over a minute later, Nichols hit the net with a shot at 25:25. The Loggers won the ensuing draw control, and Kisner scored 11 seconds later on a free position shot to complete the 3-0 run.

A goal by Piros at 24:46, assisted by Emma Canchola (Fr., DEF, Oregon City OR/Oregon City HS), seized momentum from Puget Sound. More than five minutes passed before Kisner scored again to give the Loggers a 4-1 lead. Nina Hernandez (So., MID, Valencia, CA/Williams S. Hart HS) provided WU with a goal at 16:56 that was assisted by Victoria Glidden (Fr., MID/DEF, Dover, NH/Phillips Exeter Academy). Deryn Gersoff gave the Loggers a 5-2 advantage on a goal at 11:15.

The defenses controlled the game for nearly eight minutes, but Ohsman broke the scoreless streak with a goal at the 3:27 mark on a free position shot. When Piros tacked on a goal at 2:14 after receiving a pass from Hernandez, the Bearcats trailed by a slim 5-4 margin.

Gersoff recorded the first goal of the second half on a free position shot for the Loggers at 29:14. Ali Walker added a goal for Puget Sound at 24:07. Oshman pulled the Bearcats within 7-5 when she claimed her second free position goal of the game at 19:02.

Willamette gained possession six times before the next goal was scored by Kisner of Puget Sound with 12:06 left, but the Loggers limited the Bearcats to three shots. Attempts by Miya Konishi (So., MID/DEF, Reston, VA/South Lakes HS) and Kelly went wide, and a free position shot by Piros was saved by goalkeeper Charlotte Donnelly at 14:05. Over the same time period, the Loggers produced just one shot, a free position attempt by Nichols that WU goalie Kara Phillips saved at the 15:09 mark.

Kisner's goal with just over 12 minutes left, gave the Loggers an 8-5 edge. Laura Kelly (Fr., ATT/MID, Mountain View, CA/Mountain View HS) was successful on a free position shot for the Bearcats with 7:39 remaining, as Willamette pulled within two goals. Nichols scored at 4:57 and 1:29 to seal the win for the Loggers.

For the game, Kinser led all players with four goals, while Nichols finished with three. Kisner attained a game-high eight shots -- all on goal -- to go along with four ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers.

Ohsman and Piros led the Bearcats in scoring, while Canchola put together another strong game for WU. She topped all players with eight ground balls, earned a game-high four caused turnovers, registered three draw controls and was credited with one assist.

The Loggers outshot Willamette, 26-16, including 17-7 in the first half. Both teams produced nine shots in the second half. Puget Sound held a 23-12 margin in ground balls, but the Bearcats built a 10-8 advantage in draw controls. WU committed 24 turnovers, while the Loggers lost the ball 14 times. Phillips made 14 saves for the Bearcats, including 10 in the first half. Donnelly supplied Puget Sound with six saves.

Willamette will play at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, on Sunday, April 14 at 1 p.m. It will be the fourth game in a string of six consecutive road games for Willamette, before the Bearcats end the season at home on April 27 and April 28. George Fox is 10-2 overall and leads the NWC with a 7-0 conference record.

Big Moment of the Game for Willamette

Miranda Piros scored twice for the Bearcats, including a goal with
2:14 left in the first half that pulled Willamette within 5-4 at the
halftime break. For the season, Piros is WU's second-leading
scorer with 26 goals and three assists for 29 total points.