On Sunday, March 8, Whitworth University’s lacrosse team ended its match against Willamette University’s Bearcats with a final score of 11-10. This win against the Bearcats marks Whitworth’s first win over Willamette in its program history.  

“This year, I would say one of our hardest matches that we faced was against Willamette,” said Sedona Liming, a junior and one of four team captains, “It was really challenging, because all of us wanted that win, we had worked so hard and recognized that we had the ability to beat them.”  

The college lacrosse season begins in early February and ends in late May. The Northwest Conference consists of nine schools, including Lewis & Clark College, Linfield University, George Fox University, Pacific University, Willamette University, Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound, Whitman College and Whitworth University. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) separates games into conference and non-conference. Conference games determine a team’s standing and qualification for the tournament, while non-conference games add to the team’s record and allow them to practice against each other.  

“We have only played three NWC teams, and those only counted as non-conference games, so we begin this weekend playing every NWC team once for our conference record,” shared Noelle Brouillard, lacrosse team head coach. “Our conference continues to grow stronger, and it makes conference play that much more competitive as every team improves,” she added.

The team’s win against the Bearcats serves as a fuel source as they enter conference play. “We talk a lot about the fire that we have, and I think some games we show up with that fire and that want to just pull out a win,” said Campbell Vincent, junior at Whitworth and one of four team captains, “As a team, we would love to see a conference championship. And I think every single one of us can do that, and our team can, and I know our coaches can too.” 

A key area that the team has been focusing on this season is the mental aspect of the game, both individually and as a group. Brouillard stated that “as we enter conference play, we want to uphold our Whitworth standard of lacrosse in each of these next games, focusing on the areas that we collectively can control, ground balls, our transition game, and possession.”  

Allowing their focus to not solely be on winning games but to prioritize the players’ outlook on the sport is the strategy that the team has implemented this year. “One of the things our coach has been saying recently is play free, and what that means for our team is playing without any fear of mistakes, or just playing with 100% and wanting to take risks that you know will pay off,” shared Liming, “And I think our team has really been able to capitalize on that and play free, recognizing that we all have each other’s back, and we can all trust each other.” 

If the Pirates play well, they will play in the NWC Tournament this weekend, which features the top four teams from the regular-season rankings.