SALEM, Ore. – Women's Soccer rans into conference-leading juggernaut Pacific Lutheran Sunday afternoon at Sparks Field, as the Bearcats fell 3-0 in a Northwest Conference matchup that saw Nina Krassner-Cybulski and Claire Warthen unleash a pair of shots each to lead Willamette.
With today's result, Willamette drops to 6-5-4 overall and 5-4-1 in Northwest Conference play. Meanwhile, Pacific Lutheran improves to 10-1-3 overall and 9-0-1 in NWC action.
The game's scoring started in the 22nd minute, as the eventual game-winner came via an own goal that bounced off a Bearcat defender's head before finding the back of the net for an early 1-0 lead for the visiting Lutes.
Exactly 12 minutes later, PLU's Hannah Cecil scored her ninth goal of the season when she one-touched the ball to her left before unleashing a left-footed shot into the upper left corner from just outside the penalty box to put the Lutes ahead by a pair of goals, 2-0.
Pacific Lutheran held a 9-4 advantage in shots over the opening 45 minutes, as Cecil led all players with three shots for the visiting Lutes.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair with both teams keeping possession of the ball. In the 82nd minute, Bella Hanna scored Pacific Lutheran's third goal of the afternoon when she teamed with Julia Causbie for her fifth goal of the season. Causbie would begin the play with a corner kick that sailed through the air and found the head of Hanna, who redirected the ball into the lower right corner of the goal for a three-goal advantage for the visiting Lutes.
Neither team held much of an advantage over the game's final seven-plus minutes, as Pacific Lutheran ended the game with a 17-8 advantage in total shots.
Willamette's goalkeeper Sam Borngasser registered a game-high five saves for the Bearcats, while Abby Winkler tallied four saves for Pacific Lutheran.
The Bearcats take to the road next weekend when Willamette takes on the Bruins of George Fox University on Saturday, October 26, starting at 2:45 PM in Newberg.