Bearcats Get Ready to Take On the Whit's this Weekend

By Evan Giddings, Student Assistant Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University women's soccer team is set to host Northwest Conference opponents Whitworth University on Saturday, Nov. 1 and Whitman College on Sunday, Nov. 2. Both games are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. (PDT) on Sparks Field.

Willamette enters the match with a 2-13-1 overall record and a 1-10-1 NWC record. This past week, the Bearcats lost by a score of 2-0 to a University of Puget Sound team that is currently tied for first place in the Northwest Conference standings.

The 'Cats held the Loggers at bay in the first half, not allowing a score and only one shot on goal. However, just over four minutes after the break, Puget Sound found the net on a 25-yard shot from the middle of the field that went into the lower right corner of the goal.

In response, Willamette put together their own offensive attack, as in both the 63rd and 65th minutes, respectively, Sarah Desautels (Sr., MF/F, Snohomish, WA/Glacier Park HS) and Jill Phillips (Jr., MF/GK, Fairbanks, AK/West Valley HS) aimed shots on goal, that were saved. Those were WU's only shots on goal. The Bearcats had four total shot.

Then, in the 82nd minute, the Loggers put the game out of reach when they scored on a shot from 21 yards out to the lower left portion of the net after a crossing pass from the right side.

As the Bearcats seek to bounce back from the tough loss, Saturday's opponent will feature a Whitworth team that is currently 4-9 in the NWC with a 5-11-1 overall record. In their first meeting back on Sept. 21, the Bearcats bested the Pirates in a close 1-0 victory.

Whitworth's top scorer is Tiara Pajimola (Jr., F) who has tallied four goals on the year with three of them being game-winners. She will backed up on defense by Andrea Stump (Jr., GK) who is third in the Northwest Conference in Saves (80) and fourth in save percentage (.842) while logging 1,370 minutes between the pipes.

On Sunday, the Bearcats will battle Whitman in an attempt to even the season series after narrowly losing 1-0 back on Sept. 20. The Missionaries' balanced attack will be led by both Clara Merlino (Jr., F) and Lena de Guzman (So., MF), who have recorded three goals apiece while also each dishing out four assists.

In the goal, Haley Case (So., GK) has played all 1,599 minutes for Whitman this fall and has a 0.96 goals against percentage to go with 53 saves.