By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University first-year goalkeeper Olivia Austin (San Diego, CA/La Jolla HS) has been chosen as the Northwest Conference Women's Lacrosse Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week for her efforts in a 20-2 win against Lewis & Clark College in a non-conference game on Feb. 27. Austin and the Willamette defense limited the Pioneers to just 10 shots and six shots on target.

During the game against L&C, Austin recorded four saves to help the Bearcats win their regular season opener by a wide margin. Later in the week, Austin and her teammates held Eastern Oregon University to one shot and no shots on goal in a 20-0 exhibition win. The NWC weekly award was based only on WU's game against L&C.

The Bearcats, 1-0 on the season, will play at the University of Puget Sound on Saturday, March 9 in Tacoma, Washington. Game time is set for 1 p.m. PST. Willamette will return home to host Pacific University on Sunday, March 10 at Sparks Field in Salem, Oregon, starting at 1 p.m. PDT.