PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College women's lacrosse scored six unanswered goals in the third quarter to take control and held on for a massive 14-12 Northwest Conference win over Whitworth University. 

THE BASICS 
 
Lewis & Clark 14, Whitworth 12
(Lewis & Clark 10-4, Northwest Conference 5-0) 
(Whitworth 6-8, NWC 2-3) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
After trailing for the majority of the first half, Lewis & Clark struck for six goals in a 6:51 span of the third quarter to grab a 13-9 lead. Whitworth battled back in the fourth quarter to cut it to 13-12 with 4:45 to play. Junior Rowan Levandoski snapped a nearly 20-minute scoreless streak with 2:53 to go, to help Lewis & Clark push their lead to 14-12 and secure the win. 
 
First year Ala Cross set the single-season, program record for points in a season on Friday night. The first year, who needed three points to break teammate Aviana Gonzales' record of 82 points, posted three goals and a team-high five assists and eight points. She added a ground ball and a caused turnover. 
 
Gonzales stayed red-hot for the River Otters. She scored five goals and chipped in two assists, to bring her total to 26 goals in the past four contests. 
 
Junior Sage Swegle matched Levandoski with a pair of goals. Swegle also led the team with four ground balls. 
 
Senior Kate Meinhard, junior Finley Allen and sophomore Mack Searle all found the back of the cage one time. Searle (seven), Allen (five) and Meinhard (four) combined to win all 16 of the team's draw controls. 
 
In net, sophomore Kaitlin McRae made five saves on 13 shots throughout the first half. First year Phoebe Labuhn made one save on five shots in the final 30 minutes. 
 
Lewis & Clark opened the scoring 3:53 into the first quarter, when Levandoski took a pass from Swegle to break the deadlock. 
 
Whitworth would tie the score at 9:58 and add two more tallies to grab their first of six two-goal leads. The rest of the first half would see Lewis & Clark cut the deficit to one, before Whitworth would respond right back. Gonzales scored with 61 seconds left before halftime to cut the deficit to 8-7. 
 
The Pirates opened the scoring in the second half at 13:50, but that would be their last goal for almost 15 minutes. 
 
Gonzales started the River Otters scoring spree with an unassisted goal at 13:28 to cut the deficit to 9-8. 
 
Cross tied the game at 13:13 and gave Lewis & Clark their first lead in almost 30 minutes when she scored with 11:16 to go in the quarter (10-9). 
 
Meinhard (10:56), Gonzales (10:25) and Searle (6:37) all added tallies in the third quarter to give Lewis & Clark the largest lead of the game at 13-9. 
 
After being shutout for the final 13:50 of the third quarter, Whitworth opened the fourth strong. Campbell Vincent, the team's leading scorer, made it 13-10 at 13:59 and Megan Whitman added a second goal at 11:24. 
 
With Lewis & Clark nursing a 13-11 lead, neither side could find the next goal for almost seven minutes. Vincent finally made it a 13-12 with 4:45 to go. 
 
Lewis & Clark broke a 18 minute and 44 second scoring drought at 2:53. Allen fed a cutting Levandoski in front of the net and the junior sent a low shot past the Whitworth goalie for a momentum-shifting goal. 
 
Searle won the ensuing draw control and Allen came away with a ground ball with a minute to play to seal the win. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Lewis & Clark earned a 16-12 edge on draw controls and went a perfect 2-2 on free-position shots. 
• Cross sits first in program history with her 88 points in a single-season. The first year has racked up 45 goals and a team-leading and single-season record 43 assists in 14 games. 
• Meinhard led the team with four caused turnovers and added three ground balls. 
• Friday's contest marked the first-ever meeting between the two teams in Portland. Lewis & Clark now stands 2-1 all-time against the Pirates, after beating Whitworth 20-16 last year in Spokane. 
• Lewis & Clark wrapped up a stretch of four conference games in seven days with a 4-0 record. They outscored their opponents 77-27 during the stretch. 
• With the win on Friday, Lewis & Clark set a new program record for conference wins in a single-season with five. They are one win away from tying the 2025 team for the most wins in a single-season (12). 

WHO'S NEXT 

Lewis & Clark will have Saturday off, before hosting Whitman College on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Blues are one of two teams in the NWC the River Otters have yet to beat (0-2).