McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Five women's lacrosse players scored goals as Lewis & Clark College defeated Linfield University 16-7 on Wednesday at the Linfield Lacrosse Complex.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 16, Linfield 7
(Lewis & Clark 9-4, 4-0 NWC)
(Linfield 5-9, 3-3 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior
Aviana Gonzales led Lewis & Clark with six goals and two assists for eight points. Senior
Kate Meinhard added three goals and two assists for five points.
Sophomore
Mack Searle scored three goals, including one short-handed and one on a man-up opportunity, and led the team with eight draw controls. Junior
Sage Swegle recorded three goals, including two on free-position attempts. First-year
Ala Cross finished with one goal and two assists.
Sophomore
Kaitlin McRae started in goal and earned the win, allowing six goals with four saves in the first half. First-year
Phoebe Labuhn played the second half and allowed one goal with two saves.
Searle opened the scoring at 9:14 of the first quarter with a short-handed goal. Linfield tied the game at 7:22 and took its only lead, 2-1, at 3:58. Searle answered at 3:14, and Meinhard scored at 1:17 off a Cross assist to give Lewis & Clark a 3-2 lead after one quarter.
Swegle scored on a free-position attempt at 13:36 of the second quarter, and Gonzales followed 25 seconds later to extend the lead to 5-2. Linfield responded over the next eight minutes. The Wildcats converted a free-position attempt at 10:59, and after Gonzales scored on a Meinhard feed at 10:10, Linfield answered at 8:43. Gonzales scored again at 8:24 on a pass from Cross, but Apple Riso and Gabby Crist scored at 6:24 and 5:12 to cut the deficit to 7-6 at halftime.
Lewis & Clark pulled away in the third quarter. Gonzales scored at 10:29 on a Meinhard assist and again at 8:58 to make it 9-6. Meinhard added a man-up goal at 2:12 on a Gonzales feed while Linfield had two players in the penalty box. Riso scored at 0:18 to make it 10-7 entering the fourth quarter.
Lewis & Clark shut out Linfield in the final period and scored six unanswered goals. Gonzales opened the quarter at 14:42, and Swegle scored 42 seconds later. Searle added a man-up goal at 6:58, and Meinhard scored at 5:06 on a Gonzales assist. Cross scored at 1:24, and Swegle closed the scoring with a free-position goal with 10 seconds remaining.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Searle (eight) and Meinhard (seven) combined for 15 of the 19 Lewis & Clark draw controls.
- Lewis & Clark outshot Linfield 38-15 and grabbed seven more ground balls (23-16).
- Sophomore Kaedance Stubbs led the River Otters defensively with five ground balls and two caused turnovers while adding two draw controls and a shot on goal.
- The River Otters have outscored their opponents 75-26 in four Northwest Conference games.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark hosts Whitworth University on Friday at 7 p.m.