LaFrance & O'Grady Shine in Senior Day Victory Over Whitman, 3-0

SALEM, Ore. – Seniors Krisna LaFrance and Ryan O'Grady each scored goals and fellow senior Sean Kim registered a pair of assists, as Willamette's men's soccer team capped off Senior Day with a 3-0 victory over the visiting Blues of Whitman College Sunday afternoon on Sparks Field.

LaFrance led the Bearcats with his eighth and ninth goals of the season, while O'Grady scored his fourth goal of the season. Meanwhile, Kim handed out assists numbers five and six on the season in his final campaign in a Bearcat uniform.

Prior to the game, Willamette honored six seniors (Brandon Rodriguez-Hernandez, LaFrance, Kim, Andrew Reed, Simon Stein, and O'Grady) before they stepped onto the field for the next-to-last home game of their careers.

Today's result moves Willamette to 5-8-5 overall and 5-5-4 in Northwest Conference play. On the other hand, Whitman falls to 10-6-2 overall and 7-5-2 in NWC contests.

Willamette got the scoring started in the sixth minute when LaFrance received a pass from Kim, dribbled around a sliding Whitman goalkeeper and tapped a shot from three yards out into the back of the net for the eventual game-winner.

Less than 12 minutes later, O'Grady would team with Kim on the Bearcats' second goal of the afternoon. Kim began the play with a free kick from 30 yards out, as the graduate student curved a pass into the box where O'Grady came into the play with a diving header that eluded the Blues' net-minder and found the left side of the net for Willamette's second score of the afternoon.

The Bearcats would add another goal in the 34th minute when LaFrance finished off the scoring with an unassisted goal from two yards out.

In the opening 45 minutes, Willamette held a 9-to-5 advantage in total shots with the Bearcats registering six shots on goal compared to Whitman's three.

The second half would be a true back-and-forth battle, as neither team could capitalize on any offensive efforts. In the end, Whitman would outshot Willamette, 7-2, in the second half but the visiting Blues only got one shot on target over the game's final 45 minutes.

Overall, Whitman concluded the game with a slim one-shot margin, 12-11, with Willamette squeaking out the edge in shots on goal (7-5).

In between the pipes, Willamette's Evan Bierman picked up his second win of the season after registering a game-high five saves. Meanwhile, Whitman would split time in goal, as Lucas Haigh allowed all three Bearcats goals in the first half despite recording a team-high three saves. Niclas Isenesee would close out the game for the Blues in goal, as he tallied just one save in 45 minutes of action.

Willamette will close out its regular season home schedule on Wednesday, November 6, against the Boxers of Pacific University of Oregon beginning at 5:00 PM on Sparks Field.