Linfield women’s lacrosse already looks like a new, successful team as it won its first two games of the season. And more importantly, the ’Cats defeated Northwest Conference opponents for the first time in four years.
“It was an incredible feeling,” Head Coach Brittany Hartmann said. “After putting in all of the hard work over the last three years, it is finally paying off.”
This is already an improvement upon last year’s season record. The ’Cats were 1-14 in the 2017 season.
“It felt amazing to win both games this weekend knowing we had to prove so many people wrong about Linfield lacrosse,” freshman Maddie Cole said.
“We have great team chemistry and it shows on the field. Having a team who you can trust really makes the game a lot more enjoyable to play.”
Cole said the mottos for this past weekend were to “make new mistakes” and “keep composure no matter what happens,” which she felt the Wildcats executed well.
On Saturday, Linfield defeated Pacific 18-5 in Forest Grove. Senior Genna Hughes and Freshman Nathaly Sanchez each scored four goals while Cole and sophomore Alex Jensen each scored three.
Sophomore Maya Peterson scored two goals and sophomore Molly Herrera and freshman Gabriella Moe each scored one.
The following day, Linfield battled Puget Sound for the win. Linfield started off strong by scoring the first goal at the 27-minute mark, but the Loggers quickly answered back by scoring at the 25-minute mark.
From there, Linfield scored six consecutive times before Puget Sound scored again.
After the Loggers scored at the seven-minute mark, they scored twice more and the Wildcats scored once more before the half ended.
In the second half, the Wildcats came out ready to play as they scored three times before the Loggers could answer. The game ended in Linfield’s favor, 9-12.
Hughes led the ’Cats by scoring six goals. Moe scored three goals, Cole scored two and Jensen scored one.
Linfield is ranked second in the NWC behind George Fox, Whitman, Puget Sound and Pacific sit behind Linfield in the rankings.
“This year, we finally have the culture set. Our coaching staff worked incredibly hard to recruit last year, and it is coming to fruition this year,” Hartmann said.
For the next game, Hartmann said the team plans to focus on its goal of remaining composed and focus on effort, mental toughness, and positivity.
“Overall I am very proud of how my team did, and I am very excited to see us get better and better each week,” Cole said.