By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Maddie Garcia (Jr., MID, Encinitas, CA/San Dieguito Academy) and Analise Wilson (So., MID, Temecula, CA/Chaparral HS) each scored two goals for Willamette University, but Occidental College defeated the Bearcats 17-5 in a non-conference women's lacrosse game on Wednesday, March 23 at Patterson Field. Occidental improved to 4-3 on the season. Willamette ended the game at 6-2.
The Tigers held a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, but outscored Willamette 8-0 in the second quarter for an 11-1 margin at halftime. Occidental gained a 4-2 edge in the third quarter before both teams scored two goals in the final period. Bella Litt, Emma Cho, and Annie Dolan each produced four goals for the Tigers. Litt and Ashley Fletcher were credited with two assists apiece.
Willamette goalkeeper Shelby Sawyer (Jr., GK, Marysville, WA/Bio Med Academy) set a school record with 18 saves during the game. She earned eight saves in the first quarter. The previous WU record for saves in a game was 16 by Kara Phillips against Linfield College (now Linfield University) on March 31, 2019. Sawyer nearly set the record earlier this season when she made 15 saves against Whitman College on March 6 and accumulated 15 saves against George Fox University on March 12.
Wilson opened the scoring for Willamette with 12:34 left in the first quarter after receiving a pass from Catie Kawamura (Jr., ATT, San Diego, CA/San Diego International Studies). Litt tallied the next two goals for Occidental on a pair of free-position shots with 7:00 and 6:35 on the clock, giving the Tigers a 2-1 margin. Dolan added a goal for Occidental at the 5:03 mark that was assisted by Litt.
Occidental's eight goals in the second period included three scores by Cho and two by Litt. The Tiger tacked on a goal just under a minute into the third quarter for a 12-1 lead. Garcia ended the Occidental scoring streak when she put in a goal for the Bearcats with 12:17 remaining in the third quarter. Shea Richardson-Pepper (Fy., D/M, San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS) assisted on the play.
The Tigers finished with a 41-8 edge in total shots, a 24-8 lead in ground balls, and a 15-9 margin in draw controls. For the Bearcats, Wilson achieved four shots (all on target) to go along with four draw controls and two caused turnovers. Richardson-Pepper and Emma Canchola (Sr., DEF, Oregon City OR/Oregon City HS) each contributed two ground balls. Kawamura earned three draw controls and was 1 for 1 on free-position shots.
Cho ranked first in the game for Occidental with 10 shots (all on goal). Olivia Gittings provided five ground balls, while Bella Kwan registered seven draw controls. Litt forced four turnovers by the Bearcats.
Willamette will play at Chapman University in Orange, California, on Friday, March 25. Game time is scheduled for 11 a.m. (PDT).
