By Mark Colachico, Interim Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University womens soccer team will continue its four-game Northwest Conference road trip this weekend - Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 20 & 21 - on the east side of The Evergreen State against Whitman College (Wash.) and Whitworth University (Wash.). Both games are scheduled to kickoff at 12 p.m. (PST) in Walla Walla and Spokane, respectively.

Earlier this week, the Bearcats opened Northwest Conference play at Lewis & Clark College (Ore.) and fell 2-0 despite holding a 6-to-5 advantage in total shots over the opening 45 minutes. Emmy Manset (Fr., F, Ventura, CA/Foothill Technology HS) led the Bearcats with three shots, while Emma Sanders (So., MF, Kennewick, WA/Southridge HS) registered a pair of shots that included Willamette's lone attempt on-goal in the second half. Goalkeeper Emily Sewell (So., GK, Petaluma, CA/Casa Grande HS) suffered the heart-breaking loss despite registering four saves on the night.

Willamette picked up its first win of the 2014 season with a 7-0 victory over Northwest Christian University (Ore.) behind a two-goal, two-assist performance by Jill Phillips (Jr., MF/GK, Fairbanks, AK/West Valley HS). Reserve midfielder Veronica Ewers (Jr., MF, Moscow, ID/Moscow HS) also scored two goals for the Bearcats, while Kelsey Walker (Fr., MF, Westerville, OH/Westerville North HS) handed out a pair of assists off WU's bench. Sewell picked up her first win of the season in shutout fashion behind three saves.

So far this season, Phillips leads the team in points with six (two goals & two assists), while being tied for the team lead in goals with Ewers and assists with Walker. Sarah Desautels (Sr., MF/F, Snohomish, WA/Glacier Park HS) leads the team in total shots with 11, while putting five on target to tie for the team lead with Manset. Sewell has stood between the pipes for all 360 minutes so far this season and registered 10 saves, which ranks in the Top 10 in the Northwest Conference.

Whitman comes into Friday's contest with an overall record of 3-2 and 1-0 in NWC games following a 2-1 win over Whitworth over the weekend. Clara Merlino and Danielle Wieck lead the Missionaries with two goals each, while Alissa Soo and Lena de Guzman have handed out two assists each for Whitman so far this season. Haley Case has manned the Missionaries' goal for all 469-plus minutes this season and registered 15 saves with a goals against average (GAA) of 1.15 that ranks eighth in the conference.

Whitworth enters Saturday's contest having lost two straight games en route to an overall record of 1-3-1 and 0-1 in NWC games. Tiara Pajimola leads the Pirates with two goals, while Lindsey Foster has handed out the lone assist so far this season for Whitworth. Andrea Stump and Sienna Tanner have split time in goal this season for Whitworth, as Stump has played 290 minutes compared to Tanner's 182-plus. Stump has the better statistics with 17 saves, a 0.895 save percentage, two shutouts, and a GAA of 0.62.

Following this weekend's two-game road trip, Willamette concludes its opening NWC road trip against preseason favorite University of Puget Sound (Wash.) on Sunday, February 28, beginning at 12 p.m. (PST) in Tacoma, Washington.