’Cat lax drops ball in last home game of season

Kaelia Neal, Editor-in-chief

Linfield women’s lacrosse battled No. 2 ranked Whitman in hopes to secure its third straight win. However, the Blues’ defense was an unstoppable force for the Wildcats, closing out the game 4-18 in Whitman’s favor on Saturday.

“Whitman’s defense was very good at high pressuring us on attack, which we were not prepared for,” freshman Maddie Cole said. “They made us frantic and throw the ball or shoot when we shouldn’t have.”

“Whitman is a fast team that throws a lot of pressure,” sophomore Kylee Duey said.

By the 27th minute, the Blues already scored three goals. Seconds after, freshman Nathaly Sanchez scored for the ’Cats. But that was the last goal for Linfield in the first half.

Whitman went on to score eight more times before the first half ended.

The second half was nothing short of the numerous goals that the Blues scored in the first half.

Within the first four minutes, Whitman scored three more goals to bring the score 14-1.

The 11-point streak was finally ended with a goal by Linfield’s sophomore Maya Peterson.

Whitman went on the score three more times to bring the score 17-2. In the 15th minute, sophomore Alex Jensen scored the Wildcats’ third goal.

Each team scored twice more to bring the game to a close at 18-4. Linfield’s Gabriella Moe scored the final point for her team.

“I think if we had all our players in full health, the outcome would have been different,” Cole said.

’Cat lax will play its final game of the season against No. 1 ranked George Fox 1 p.m. Saturday, April 21, in Newberg.

“I am excited to put it all out on the field and play for both Genna [Hughes] and Maya [Peterson] since it is their last game,” Cole said. “We know GFU is good, but playing them makes us a better team. We have nothing to lose at this point, and we are excited to play with everything we have in our last game this season.”

Duey said she is looking forward to “laying it all out on the field with the team from this year.”

“This game is the last one we have together, and I want to make it count,” she said.