By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications, (503) 370-6110
GEORGETOWN, Texas -- Willamette University fell to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in a non-conference women's lacrosse game, 19-3, on Wednesday, March 27 at Southwestern University (Texas). The neutral-site win improved UW-River Falls to 3-4 on the season, while the Bearcats slipped to 2-5.
Laura Kelly (Fr., Mountain View, CA/Mountain View HS) led Willamette with two goals for her first multiple-goal game as a collegiate player. Anabel Ohsman (So., ATT, Shohomish, WA/Glacier Peak HS) also recorded a goal for Willamette. Ohsman has scored in six of the Bearcats' seven games.
For UW-River Falls, Sophia Leong and Emma Moonen each tallied four goals and one assist for five total points. Reilly Springman provided three goals and one assist for the Falcons, while Lexy Meinert contributed three goals.
Leong scored the game's first goal for the Falcons at 28:27, and then added another goal at 27:41. Springman hit the net at 27:06, as UWRF took a 3-0 lead. The Falcons added three additional unanswered goals, as their lead reached 6-0 following a goal by Emma Kohlbeck at the 21:04 mark.
The Bearcats slowed down the attack of the Falcons during the rest of the half. After Kohlbeck's goal, both teams were scoreless for the next 11 minutes, until Kelly registered Willamette's first goal with 9:50 on the clock. Springman scored for UWRF on a free position shot with 8:12 to play in the half, and Leong put in a goal with 25 seconds left to give the Falcons an 8-1 halftime lead.
UW-River Falls received a goal from Emma Moonen with 27:51 remaining in the game, and Ohsman answered for the Bearcats about a minute later. A goal by Gina Jablonski and two more goals for Moonen increased the Falcons' advantage to 12-2 with 23:33 left. Three of the next five goals were scored by Meinert, as UWRF continued to pull away. Kelly scored her second goal of the game for WU at the 2:28 mark.
During the game, the Falcons accumulated a 33-12 lead in total shots. UW-River Falls achieved a 15-8 edge in draw controls and a 22-14 margin in ground balls. Willamette goalkeeper Kara Phillips (Sr., GK, Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington HS) made six saves for the Bearcats. Ashley Olson earned five saves for UWRF.
Emma Canchola (Fr., DEF, Oregon City OR/Oregon City HS) provided strong defense for Willamette with three forced turnovers, three ground ball and two draw controls. The game included six timed-penalties with five on Willamette, including two on Canchola. Jablonski was called for the only penalty on the Falcons. Jablonski also earned five draw controls, while Nicole Swanson supplied UWRF with five ground balls.
The Bearcats will take on Northwest Conference opponent Pacific University on Saturday, March 30 at Sparks Field. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. (PDT).