NEWBERG, Ore. – In only its second season eligible for the Northwest Conference Tournament and third varsity season overall, Lewis & Clark College women's lacrosse earned the No. 3 seed and will make its first appearance in the Northwest Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament this weekend in Newberg. The River Otters will face No. 2 seed Whitman College in the second semifinal on Friday.
FOLLOW LIVE
George Fox University Athletics will provide live video and live stats coverage of the tournament.
THE MATCHUP
No. 3 Lewis & Clark (11-6, 6-2 NWC) vs. No. 2 Whitman (11-6, 7-1 NWC), 7 p.m.
PREVIOUS MEETING
Apr. 19 – Whitman 18, Lewis & Clark 10
Lewis & Clark erased an early deficit and pulled within two goals in the third quarter before Whitman used a strong fourth period to secure the conference win. First-year
Ala Cross and junior
Sage Swegle each finished with three goals and one assist, while Cross extended her single-season program records to 44 assists and 92 points at the time. Junior
Finley Allen added two goals and two assists, and senior
Kate Meinhard scored twice with five draw controls and three ground balls. Sophomore
Kaedance Stubbs posted six ground balls and five caused turnovers, while first-year
Phoebe Labuhn made five second-half saves. Lewis & Clark tied the game 5-5 in the second quarter and later closed within 10-8 in the third before Whitman pulled away.
SCOUTING THE RIVER OTTERS
Lewis & Clark earned a spot in the NWC Tournament for the first time in program history after going 6-2 in conference play.
The River Otters opened league play with a 12-11 home win over Willamette University, the No. 4 seed in this year's tournament, and used that result to start a five-game winning streak. Lewis & Clark's only conference losses came against Whitman and top-seeded George Fox (17-13).
The Otts are led in scoring by junior
Aviana Gonzales (58 goals), Cross (54 goals) and Swegle (48 goals). Cross set single-season program records with 53 assists and 107 points and became the first player in program history to surpass 100 points in a season.
Defensively, Stubbs, Meinhard and sophomore
Mack Searle pace the group. Stubbs led the team with 50 ground balls and 35 caused turnovers, while Meinhard ranked second with 43 ground balls and 34 caused turnovers. Searle led the team with 98 draw controls and has added 36 ground balls.
Sophomore
Kaitlin McRae Labuhn have split time in goal this season and have recorded 46 and 60 saves, respectively.
SCOUTING THE BLUES
Whitman earned the No. 2 seed for the second straight season and is making its fourth consecutive NWC Tournament appearance.
The Blues are led offensively by Lola McConaghy (54 goals) and Sarah Hawkins (43 goals, 59 assists). Defensively, Joy Olson-Uderitz led Whitman with 48 ground balls and 34 caused turnovers. Hawkins has also won 58 draw controls and added 34 ground balls.
Whitman goalkeeper Renn Novak has recorded 93 saves this season.
ELSEWHERE IN THE BRACKET
In Friday's first semifinal, No. 4 Willamette will face top-seeded and host George Fox at 4 p.m. George Fox defeated Willamette 8-7 in overtime on April 12 and earned a 20-5 non-conference win on March 15. The Bruins have won 91 straight NWC games and have not lost to a conference opponent since April 20, 2016.
WHAT'S NEXT
The winners of Friday's semifinals will meet in the 2026 Northwest Conference Championship game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
