Fast Break: Volleyball clinches playoffs, basketball takes on all of Division I

A duck in a Willamette jersey about to score a goal on the soccer field while the crowd cheers behind them. Art by Wes Mowry-Silverman.

Hello, Bearcat Fan! We have some good news coming off of the weekend, shockingly, despite the fact that fall sports are sadly over (mostly). 

Starting with the expected, football lost on senior day 29-0 at home to the Whitworth Pirates on Saturday.

Women’s soccer tied 1-1 against the Boxers on their senior day on Saturday, and then 1-1 again to the Pioneers away on Sunday, wrapping up their season with a 3-7-9 overall record. The ’Cats end the year with a No. 7 ranking.

Men’s soccer won both matches over the weekend, beating the Boxers 3-0 at home and then destroying the Pios 5-0 on Sunday. They conclude their season with a 7-6-7 record, a marginal but solid improvement from last year’s 6-8-6 season, and a No. 3 conference finish.

Basketball is thoroughly underway, and the men’s squad lost to DI Portland on Nov. 3, beat La Verne at home on Nov. 7, and then dropped a close game to Warner Pacific on Nov. 8. They put up solid numbers against the Pilots and at halftime were within seven points, proving a promising start to the Bearcats’ season.

Women’s basketball did not have the same luck that the men’s side did against the Pilots, losing 95-43 .Granted, this is the Portland team that made the NCAA tournament just two years ago, so you can’t hold it against them. On Friday, however, the ’Cats beat Warner Pacific at home 64-48, and Kaitlin Imai (’26) put up 19 points and shot 47% from the field.

Triathlon went down to Tempe, Arizona for the DIII National Championship and earned a solid No. 4 team finish. Sofie Szigeti (’28) placed No. 8 with a 1:16:01.9 time, earning her All-American honors, wrapping up an impressive season for the ’Cats. 

Volleyball clinched a playoff berth with a sweep of the Pioneers on Friday, followed by a 3-1 win over the Boxers on Saturday. They sit at No. 4 in the conference and will head up to Spokane to face the No. 1 Whitworth Pirates on Nov. 14.

In the wider world of sport: Both the Oregon Ducks and the Chicago Bears decided to give me a heart attack over the weekend, narrowly winning their games against opponents that they really needed to beat, and Indiana staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time to remain undefeated against Penn State on Saturday. The Thorns played a great match that went into extra time to beat the San Diego Wave 1-0 at home on Sunday, and the Timbers lost in heartbreaking fashion to San Diego FC 4-0, also on Sunday. We’ll get ’em next year. 

In the coming weeks: Stay tuned for volleyball’s playoff appearance against the No. 1 Pirates on Friday. Football is saving the best for last, facing the Linfield Wildcats in McMinnville on Saturday. Women’s basketball will continue to face DI squads, visiting Portland State on Tuesday, and cross country heads down south to Pomona Pitzer for the NCAA West Regional on Saturday. Best of luck to our ’Cats!