By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University's Catie Kawamura (Jr., ATT, San Diego, CA/San Diego International Studies) scored three goals against George Fox University on Saturday, April 16 at Sparks Field, giving her 34 goals on the season and increasing her career scoring to 98 points. The Bearcats fell behind the Bruins 9-0 in the first quarter, and GFU went on to win the game 20-7. The Bruins remained undefeated at 14-0, including 9-0 in the Northwest Conference. Willamette fell to 10-4 overall, 7-2 in the NWC.
Kawamura has scored 74 goals and 24 assists in her career and needs two more goals and/or assists to reach the 100-point mark. Maddie Garcia (Jr., MID, Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito Academy) who provided one goal versus GFU, leads this year's team with 39 goals and has 93 career points (86 goals, 7 assists).
Lily Bachiochi (Fy., ATT, Henderson, NV/Coronado HS) earned two goals against George Fox, while Analise Wilson (So., MID, Temecula, CA/Chaparral HS) joined Garcia with one goal. Bachiochi is Willamette's overall scoring leader this season with 70 points on 37 goals and 33 assists.
The Bruins extended their lead to 13-1 with 3:44 left in the half. Willamette played a much closer game the rest of the way, as GFU held only a slim 7-6 scoring margin over the final 33:44 of the 60-minute game.
George Fox won six consecutive draw controls to start the game, but WU earned a 14-10 edge after the Bruins' string, leaving GFU with a 16-14 overall margin. Each team was credited with 10 draw controls in the final three quarters.
Both teams registered 21 ground balls during the contest. Willamette committed one more turnover that GFU (17-16) and had one more foul than the Bruins (12-11). George Fox claimed a 28-20 advantage in total shots.
Andrea Garcia-Milla and Lily Roy topped George Fox with six goals each. Marena Tharpe and Carleigh DeLapp both scored three goals for the Bruins, while Kyra Barnes and Sydney Thatch each supplied one goal. Barnes led all players with three assists, while Garcia-Milla and Tharpe finished with two assists apiece.
DeLapp scored the game's first goal, helping GFU open the contest with three goals in the opening two minutes. DeLapp and Garcia-Milla each tallied three goals in the first quarter.
Tharpe hit the net with a shot for the Bruins just over a minute into the second quarter. Wilson scored Willamette's first goal with 8:20 left in the half, pulling the Bearcats within 10-1. Roy, who scored once in the first quarter, answered with two goals for the Bruins. GFU led 14-2 at the break following a goal by Tharpe with 17 seconds left.
Roy attained her fourth goal of the game 32 seconds into the third quarter. WU answered with a 3-0 run on a pair of goals by Bachiochi and a goal by Kawamura to pull within 15-5 at the 5:23 mark. GFU gained a 5-2 scoring margin during the rest of the game, as Garcia-Milla scored three times, Roy added two goals, and Kawamura scored twice for the Bearcats.
Kiana Gottschalk (Jr., D, Bend, OR/Bend HS) led Willamette with seven ground balls, while Wilson attained six draw controls and forced three turnovers. Garcia also caused three turnovers. For GFU, Tharpe achieved five draw controls and five ground balls. Barnes added five draw controls. Bailey Faust caused three turnovers.
GFU starting goalkeeper Ella Rand played the first 30 minutes and made three saves while improving to 14-0 on the season. Emma Webb earned four saves for the Bruins in the second half. Willamette goalie Shelby Sawyer (Jr., GK, Marysville, WA/Bio Med Academy) played all 60 minutes and had one save. Sawyer's record moved to 10-4 on the season.
Willamette will take on Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon, on Sunday, April 17 at 1 p.m. (PDT). The Bearcats defeated the Wildcats 18-8 at Sparks Field on March 13.