Bachiochi and Richardson-Pepper Lead Bearcats in Victory Over Whitman

Salem, Ore. - Willamette Women's Lacrosse won a hard-fought match against Whitman that saw the Bearcats score the final three goals of the game to win 10-8 over the Blues.  Shea Richardson-Pepper and Lily Bachiochi each scored three goals to lead the scoring for Willamette.

The first quarter didn't see any scoring until the Bearcats broke through mid-way through when Catie Mohr put Willamette up 1-0 with 7:48 left in the first.  Clair Kisielnicki scored just over forty seconds later to give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead.  Both teams continued their strong defense throughout the rest of the quarter and the Blues finally broke through with just under two minutes remaining when they converted a free position shot to cut the Bearcat lead to 2-1.

The defenses continued to dominate throughout most of the second quarter, with the Blues almost tying the score when Lola McConaghy's shot hit the post with eleven minutes left in the half.  Whitman finally did break through and tie the score with just over three minutes remaining, but the Bearcats were able to take a 3-2 lead to halftime thanks to a goal by Richardson-Pepper with just 20 seconds left on the clock.

The third quarter saw both teams find their scoring punch, and the Blues struck first, scoring the first three goals of the quarter to take a 5-3 lead after the opening four minutes.  Willamette responded right back with three goals of their own to take the lead back at 6-5.  Bachiochi scored two of the goals in that stretch, with Sydney Davis scoring the other.  Whitman scored again to tie the match, but another goal by Bachiochi put the Bearcats up 7-6 heading to the fourth quarter.

Whitman started hot again in the fourth and scored the opening two goals to take the lead back at 8-7, but their goal with 11:29 left would be their last of the match.  Willamette scored the final three goals of the match to take the 10-8 victory.  Richardson-Peper scored goals 8 and 9 for the Bearcats, with Alex Warfel scoring the final goal with just under three minutes left to seal the win for Wllamette. 

Jay Shiflett and Olivia Austin led the Bearcats with five ground ball pickups each.  Austin played the full sixty minutes in goal and registered seven saves.  

Willamette's next match is at home on Tuesday, March 11th, when they host the University of the South.  The match is scheduled to start at 5:00 pm.