By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

NEWBERG, Ore. -- Maddie Garcia (Sr., MID, Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito Academy) scored three goals for Willamette University and goalkeeper Shelby Sawyer (Sr., GK, Marysville, WA/Bio Med Academy) registered a season-high 15 saves, but undefeated George Fox University defeated the Bearcats, 18-7 on Saturday, March 18. GFU advanced its record to 8-0 on the season, 7-0 in the NWC. Willamette moved to 6-3 overall, 4-3 in the NWC.

The Bruins grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first quarter and held a 5-0 margin before Tati Klenk (Sr., ATT, Truckee, CA/Tahoe Truckee HS) tallied Willamette's first goal with 13:35 left in the second quarter. GFU's first five goals were scored by four different players. Marena Tharpe, who scored the third and fifth goals, also hit the net with a shot at the 12:36 mark of the second quarter to give the Bruins a 6-1 edge.

Later in the second quarter, Garcia earned her first goal to pull WU within 7-2 as the clock reached 4:49. Ava Blum scored for GFU just 22 seconds later and tacked on another goal at 3:34, giving the Bruins a 9-2 lead. Claire Kisielnicki (Fy., ATT, Manitou Springs, CO/Manitou Springs HS) earned a goal for Willamette with 2:41 left in the half.

George Fox outscored the Bearcats 6-2 in the third quarter, as Klenk and Garcia provided goals for WU. Scoring for the Bearcats in the fourth quarter were Garcia and Lily Bachiochi (So., ATT, Henderson, NV/Coronado HS).

Klenk leads the Bearcats with 26 goals this spring. Garcia has scored 22 goals this year and is Willamette's all-time leading goal scorer with 117 in her career. She has accumulated 127 career points to rank second all-time for the Bearcats.

Sawyer's 15 saves featured eight stops in the second half, including five in the third quarter. It was the fourth time in her career that Sawyer has achieved 15 saves in a game, as she finished three short of her school record of 18 saves, set against Occidental College (Calif.) on March 23, 2022. On Saturday, Sawyer passed the 300 save mark for her career. She now has 309 career saves.

Bluhm topped George fox with four goals, while Tharpe added three goals and one save. Olivia Geyling and Carleigh DeLapp each scored twice and had one assist for the Bruins.  GFU goalkeeper Emma Webb earned six saves while improving to 8-0 this season.

Kyla Barns led the Bruins with seven draw controls and six ground balls. Barnes also forced a game-high six turnovers. For Willamette, Shea Richardson-Pepper (So., DEF/MID, San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS) was credited with two draw controls and two caused turnovers.

Willamette will return to action on Wednesday, March 22 at the University of Puget Sound. Game time in Tacoma, Washington, is set for 4 p.m. (PDT).