By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University junior attacker Lily Bachiochi (Henderson, NV/Coronado HS) scored four goals for the Bearcats against George Fox University on Saturday, March 16, but the Bruins won the Northwest Conference battle, 22-11, at Sparks Field. The Bruins improved to 4-1 and to 3-0 in the NWC. Willamette ended the game at 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the NWC.
Bachiochi tallied two goals in the second quarter, one goal in the third period, and scored the game's final goal on a free-position shot with 45 seconds left. She has scored 98 goals in her Willamette career to go along with 89 goals for 187 points. She tops the Bearcats this year with 10 assists and is second with 14 goals.
Claire Kisielnicki (So., ATT, Manitou Springs, CO/Manitou Springs HS) and Brooklynn Pearl (So., MID, Eugene, OR/Willamette HS) each added two goals for the Bearcats. Kisielnicki is Willamette's scoring leader this season with 23 goals and 25 points.
Scoring one goal each versus GFU on Saturday were Kendyl Jennings (Sr., MID, Keizer, OR/McNary HS), Shea Richardson-Pepper (Jr., DEF/MID, San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS), and Catie Mohr (So., D/M, Portland, OR/Wilson HS). Kisielnicki and Alyssa Molisee (Fy., MID/ATT, Henderson, NV/Nevada State HS) each registered an assist.
Carleigh DeLapp led the Bruins with seven goals and two assists. Ava Bluhm scored five goals and provided two assists for GFU. Lana Davis accumulated two goals and eight assists.
George Fox put up the first two goals in the game before Pearl scored for Willamette at 8:15 to pull within 2-1. Olivia Geyling and Claire Abraham added goals for GFU to complete a 4-1 run to start the contest. Jennings hit the net for Willamette on a free-position shot with 2:26 left in the quarter to cut the margin to 4-2. Ava Bluhm scored for the Bruins at 1:11 and 0:46 to give George Fox a 6-2 edge.
Early goals in the second quarter for Willamette by Kisielnicki at the 13:56 mark and by Bachiochi at 12:44, cut GFU's margin to 6-4. A bit later, the Bearcats trailed 8-5 following a Willamette goal by Bachiochi with 7:04 remaining in the half. The Bruins ended the half with a 4-0 run to create a 12-5 lead at halftime. Bluhm earned four goals in the first half, while DeLapp produced three goals and two assists.
GFU outscored Willamette by a 5-4 margin in the third quarter. WU opened the stanza with a 3-1 run as Kisielnicki, Mohr, and Bachiochi scored goals. With 7:59 left in the quarter, the Bruins' lead was 13-8. George Fox ended the quarter with a 4-1 surge to grab a 17-9 edge. Quick goals by Bluhm at 6:48 and by Geyling at 6:44 set the run in motion. Richardson-Pepper scored for the Bearcats with 1:56 on the clock, but DeLapp earned a goal for GFU just 13 seconds later and also scored with eight seconds to go in the quarter.
The Bruins outshot the Bearcats 41-29 overall and 30-19 in shots on goal. GFU achieved a slim 19-7 edge in draw controls. Both teams committed 15 turnovers.
Willamette faced adversity when one Bearcat player had to leave the game with an injury and two players had to go to the bench after each received two yellow cards in the game. The Bearcats did not have to stay short-handed following the yellow cards, but losing two additional players made it more difficult to earn draw controls and to keep possession late in the game. GFU scored seven player-advantage goals, while WU tallied one player-advantage goal.
Cedric Shaw (Fy., MID, Jamul, CA/Valhalla HS) recorded six draw controls, while Richardson-Pepper finished with five. Richardson-Pepper led WU with three ground balls. Six Bearcats registered one caused turnover on defense. Davis of GFU topped all players with nine draw controls and Marena Tharpe added four draws for the Bruins. Ana Flores and Gabriella Muzquiz each accumulated four ground balls.
The Bearcats will play an NWC game on Tuesday, March 19, when they travel to McMinnville, Oregon, to take on nearby rival Linfield University. Game time is set for 5 p.m. PDT.
