Fast Break: That’s all, folks!

Students of Willamette play a game of pickup soccer with the ducks. Graphic by Alyssa Diggdon.

Hello, Bearcat Fan! After writing over 62 issues, bearing witness to countless moments in Willamette sports history, and generally having a blast, the time now comes for me to retire from the production of Willamette’s premier independent weekly athletics update column. I humbly pass the stewardship of the FB to the new sports and rec editor, Catie Mohr (ʼ26). She has my full confidence in embodying the standards of The Collegian’s most exalted position. As for me, I will be transitioning into a new role as the editor-in-chief. From the bottom of my heart, thanks for the memories and your readership, Bearcat Fan. Now, for one last time, let’s go to the news!

After scoring three, Lilly Bachiochi (ʼ25) was sent off in the second quarter of lacrosse’s semifinal showdown against the Whitman Blues, ending her record-breaking season. Despite goalie Olivia Austin’s (ʼ27) 17 saves, the Bearcats were unable to hang on and fell 9-12. For the second season in a row, the coaching staff was forced to field non-lacrosse athletes in the tournament; soccer’s Jaime Haysman-Boaler (ʼ25) put in a valiant shift on defense in the second half. George Fox went on to win their eighth consecutive championship. 

Baseball dropped game two of their three-game series against George Fox 6-7, while Lewis & Clark went 1-2 against Linfield, thus putting the ʼCats’ playoff dreams to bed. They ended the season on a high, however, defeating the Bruins 13-8. 

Softball failed to find a win over No. 1 Linfield and remained in their tantalizing No. 5 spot as the sun set on their season.

Track and field standouts will continue to compete long after school’s out. The Willamette athletics site will have updated results through the summer, including from the DIII national tournament.

In the world of sport: The Winnipeg Jets scored the latest game seven goal in NHL history to tie the St. Louis Blues in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, then went on to clinch the victory in double overtime. A horse named “Journalism” snagged No. 2 in the Kentucky Derby. 

Consider in the coming weeks: What’s your favorite FB memory? And alternatively:

“I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

-Percy Bysshe Shelley