Lacrosse out-Foxed again despite coaches’ polling; injuries and staff departure potential factors

The Willamette bench watches as Bearcat lacrosse falls to George Fox on April 12 at Sparks Field. Photo by Keenan Yoshizawa.

Lacrosse suffered another tough loss against rival George Fox (GFU) on April 12 at home (5-13). Despite having never defeated the Bruins, the ʼCats were picked No. 1 in the 2025 NWC coaches’ poll. After the match, they returned to their perennial No. 2 spot.

Following their No. 2 coaches’ poll placement in February, GFU lacrosse took to Instagram, writing, “The Bruins were picked to finish second in the Northwest Conference preseason poll despite not losing a conference game since 2016. They’re determined to prove they’re still the team to beat in 2025!”

The Bruins trounced the Bearcats 9-19 at their Feb. 27 preseason matchup in Newberg. However, through early April, Willamette seemed to be growing into their expectations.

They fended off a break-out Pioneer side in their season opener 16-8, then defeated Pacific Lutheran 21-1 and Puget Sound 20-0. However, ahead of the GFU bout, the squad experienced some setbacks.

Claire Kisielnicki (ʼ26) scored five goals in the previous game against Puget Sound and was out with a concussion. In 2025 alone, Kisielnicki has had two single-game point scoring performances within the top three of Willamette lacrosse history.

Willamette also lost assistant coach Yousra Manar, which has affected valuable time spent one-on-one with players working on skills, said head coach Sarah Lautenbach.

Another issue Willamette lacrosse faces is a lack of depth in the lineup. In their George Fox matchup, Willamette only listed 13 players on the roster to GFU’s 18, excluding goalies. Not only were players unable to rest, but many had to play out of position, a potential reason for their struggles to clear the ball, Lautenbach noted. Willamette cleared 14 of 30 as opposed to GFU’s 20 of 24. Lautenbach explained further that out-of-position playing creates issues cutting into space and getting open. 

A lack of available players also caused the team to briefly field women’s soccer goalkeeper Sam Borngasser (ʼ25), a move not without precedent for lacrosse. In their 2024 Conference Championship loss to the Bruins, the team fielded Willamette basketball players Ava Kitchin (ʼ24) and Carolyn Ho (ʼ24).

Lautenbach affirms that many of these issues resolve on their own, and considering the circumstances, she couldn’t be happier with how the team played. Instead, she is focused on “the expectations with where they are, not what I hope.” 

Coming off that loss, Willamette conquered Whitworth 17-12 in heroic fashion, scoring a 9-3 run through the second half. Lily Bachiochi (‘25) set a school record with 10 goals in a game, also putting up two assists, the most for the team. Coming back from her injury, Kisielnicki scored five. 

However, they failed to find a result against the Blues away on April 19, who snatched their No. 2 spot. This puts Willamette at No. 4 in the standings, 4-2 in conference and 7-6 overall.

At the time of publishing, lacrosse will have faced Pacific on April 23 and will have wrapped up their season at home against Linfield on April 27. Then, playoffs.