By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University's top two scorers on the season, Anabel Ohsman (So., ATT, Shohomish, WA/Glacier Peak HS) and Miranda Piros (Fr., MID, Newberg, OR/Newberg HS), each scored five goals to lead the Bearcats to a 16-9 victory over Whitworth University in a Northwest Conference game at Sparks Field on Saturday, April 27. The Bearcats honored seniors Laura Polkinghorn (DEF, Camino, CA/El Dorado HS) and Kara Phillips (GK, Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington HS) prior to the game

Willamette only trailed the Pirates one time at 2-1. After the Bearcats regained the lead at 3-2, Whitworth tied the score on a goal with 14:25 left in the half. Willamette answered with four goals before halftime to start a 6-0 run that gave the Bearcats a 9-3 lead with 26:04 left in the game. Whitworth pulled within 10-7 at the 13:00 mark, but Willamette took control with a 6-0 run to secure the win.

Ohsman is Willamette's scorer leader with 46 goals and six assists for 52 total points. Piros has registered 37 goals to go along with four assists for 41 total points.

"Despite not being as disciplined in our decision making as we would have liked, we fought hard and worked cohesively," Willamette Head Coach Sarah Lautenbach said. "Our attack's determination to get the ball back in the ride (against Whitworth's clear attempts) was really big for us. Overall, it was great to end the season with a hard fought win."

The Bearcats ended their schedule with Saturday's game, as they finished the team's first ever season with a 6-10 overall mark, including 5-7 in the NWC. Whitworth, also in its first season, fell to 1-13 overall, 1-10 in the NWC. Willamette was originally scheduled to play Whitman College at Sparks Field on Sunday, April 28, but Whitman chose to cancel its appearance. The resulting "no contest" gave Willamette a win in the conference standings, but did not change the Bearcats' overall record.

Willamette opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game on a goal by Piros at 28:20. Neither team scored for five minutes, but Shay Clark of Whitworth ended the drought with goals at 23:20 and 22:48 to put the Pirates in front 2-1.  Piros responded with two goals of her own at 19:25 on a free position shot and at 17:58. Hannah Meador tied the the game at 3-3 when she scored the next goal for Whitworth.

Ohsman hit the net for the first time during the game on a free position sot at the 12:02 mark to start the Bearcats on the first of their two 6-0 runs. Alayna Newland (So., ATT, Everett, WA/Archbishop Murphy HS) and Laura Kelly (Fr., ATT/MID, Mountain View, CA/Mountain View HS) scored about a minute apart at 7:34 and 6:12, respectively, before Ohsman tallied scored again at the 2:55 mark to give Willamette a 7-3 halftime lead.

Two quick goal increased the Bearcats' margin to 9-3 just a few minutes into the second half. Ohsman scored at 26:40. Emma Canchola (Fr., DEF, Oregon City OR/Oregon City HS) of Willamette gained the ensuing draw control, and Newland scored 36 seconds after Ohsman at 26:04.

Goals by Jordan Cain and Kianna Fiorito of Whitwroth pulled the Pirates within 9-5 as the clock reached 20:39. Kelly scored on an assist from Piros at 16:43, as Willamette grabbed a 10-5 lead. A bit later, the Pirates scored two goals in less than a minute to cut the margin to 10-7 with 13:00 to go. The second of the two goals was Clark's third goal of the game.

Willamette shut out the Pirates for the next 12 minutes. Meanwhile, the Bearcats tallied six goals to take command. Piros and Ohsman each scored two goals during the run, including one goal each in a 10-second span. Ohsman shot the ball into the next at 4:54 to give Willamette a 13-7 lead. Piros won the draw control and headed straight toward the goal, finding space in the center of the field as she passed Whitworth players. Piros shot past goalie Laura Wells with 4:44 to go.

In addition to the five goals each by Ohsman and Piros, the Bearcats also received two goals each from Kelly, Newland and Miya Konishi (So., MID/DEF, Reston, VA/South Lakes HS). Konishi earned both of her goals during Willamette's final decisive run. Kelly, Ohsman and Piros each recorded an assists. Clark's three goals led Whitworth. Cain and Meador each scored twice for the Pirates.

The Bearcats outshot the Pirates 30-20 overall, including 23-13 in shots on goal. Willamette held a slim lead in ground balls at 24-23, while both teams accumulated 13 draw controls. Whitworth committed twice as many fouls as the Bearcats, 34-17, and had all three of the game's time penalties on two yellow cards and one green card.

Phillips recorded four saves for Willamette, while Wells made five saves for the Pirates. Two shots by Willamette were cleared off the line by defenders.

Ohsman led all players with 10 shots, including eight shots on goal. Bridget Blaney (Jr., DEF, Buffalo, WY/Buffalo HS) topped Willamette with six ground balls and six caused turnovers. Canchola and Victoria Glidden (Fr., MID/DEF, Dover, NH/Phillips Exeter Academy) each provided the Bearcats with four ground balls. Kalista Fourre earned five ground balls for Whitworth, while Trinity Frank provided the Pirates with four draw controls and four caused turnovers. Meador also contributed four draw controls.

Big Moment of the Game for Willamette

There were several key goals for the Bearcats against Whitworth
on April 27, but none were more noticeable than the goal by
Miranda Piros with 4:44 left in the game. The Bearcats had just
extended their lead to 13-7 on a goal by Anabel Ohsman with 4:54
on the clock. Piros won the ensuing draw control and quickly headed
straight toward the Whitworth goal, where she scored her fifth goal
of the game.