WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Mountaineer Women's Lacrosse staged a near comeback Sunday afternoon against Whitworth University but came up short in the bid, falling 13-11. Eastern Oregon is now 1-4 on the year.

How it Happened
• The Mountaineers furious rally came in the final three periods of action as they outscored the Pirates (1-0) 9-5. Helping Whitworth secure the win was an 8-2 scoring run in the first.
• Helping both teams in the match-up was a 14-14 tie in draw controls. EOU had the edge in ground balls at 20-14, but the Pirates had seven forced turnovers to just four by Eastern.
• In the first period, the Pirate raced out to a 6-1 lead. The first goal of the game for EOU came on the shot of Madisson Hoyt. Her goal made it 2-1, before Whitworth went on a 4-0 run.
• The surge by the Pirates put them up five with 6:47 to play in the period. EOU did not score again until the 2:20 mark on a made shot from Claire Bever. 
• Whitworth managed to tack on two more goals in the final two minutes to lead by six going into the second. The Mountaineers' defense then limited them to just five goals the rest of the day.
• In the second period, EOU outscored Whitworth 4-1 to make it a 9-6 game at the break. The Mountaineers opened the frame with a 4-0 run that spanned just under 11 minutes.
• In the surge, the Mountaineers got three goals from Sydney Vopat and one from Kate McAfee. Their efforts cut the score to 8-6.
• Vopat's first goal came in the first 20 seconds of play in the second frame. The next EOU goal was with 8:16 left to play in the half. McAfee found the back of the net and cut the score to 8-4.
• 63 seconds later, Vopat scored again for her second goal of the day. Her goal brought the Mountaineers within three, 8-5.
• The hat trick came for Vopat with 4:05 left in the first half. She scored a third time to cap the EOU run and cut the Pirates' lead to two, 8-6.
• Whitworth snapped the 4-0 run with just under three minutes to play in the half. The goal came with 2:57 on the clock and gave the Pirates the 9-6 advantage at the break.
• The third period was the lowest scoring of all the day as the two squads combined for four goals. Whitworth had the edge at 3-1 to lead 12-7 going into the fourth.
• The first Whitworth goal came with 10:58 to play to make it a 10-6 game. The score remained at that until 4:51 when the Pirates scored again to go up 11-6. 
• The lone goal for the Mountaineers came on the shot attempt of Samantha Buckley. She handled an assist from Hoyt and scored with 3:17 to go in the third.
• The Pirates final goal of the third came with 14 seconds left on the clock. The goal gave Whitworth a 12-7 advantage heading into the fourth.
• The final 15 minutes of play saw EOU outscore Whitworth 4-1. The near comeback for the Mountaineers was not enough as they fell by two.
• Making her presence known in the fourth was McAfee who scored three of the team's four goals. Hoyt also contributed, scoring the other goal.
• McAfee's first goal came with 13:56 to get the Mounties within four, 12-8. Hoyt then scored at the 9:53 mark to cut the Pirates lead to 12-9.
• Whitworth's final goal came at the 8:14 mark of the fourth. The goal made it 13-9 before EOU scored two more.
• McAfee's final two goals came within 35 seconds of one another. She scored with 7:51 and 7:14 to play in the frame. Her goal made it a 13-11 game.
• Despite the efforts of McAfee, the Pirates held the Mountaineers scoreless over the final seven minutes of play. Eastern had chances to score but ultimately came up short.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Kate McAfee scored four goals for a hat trick. She took seven shots, all on goal, and had two draw controls.
• Sydney Vopat racked up three goals and an assist. One goal was a free position shot.
• Madisson Hoyt racked up two goals and had one assist. She was 2-2 in free position shots.
• Samantha Buckley led the way in draw controls with five and scored one goal.
• Claire Bever each scored a goal in the game and had three ground ball pickups..
• In net, Brooklynn Wright tallied nine saves. She led the way in ground balls with six. 

For the Pirates
• Anna Chase scored four goals to pace the offense
• Madison Perry scored three goals and had a game-high eight draw control wins.
• Kenzie Hemman scored three goals, caused three turnovers, and had three draw controls.
• Goalie Hannah Lew had six saves, while Sage Fosnock added two saves.

By the Numbers
11 - Eastern scored a season-high 11 goals in Sunday's contest.
1 - Kate McAfee and Sydney Vopat each tallied their first career hat tricks on Sunday.
14 - EOU tallied a season best 14 draw controls against the Pirates.
20 - The Mountaineers also had a season-high 20 ground balls on Sunday.

Up Next
• The Mountaineers will remain in-state next weekend when they head to Salem to battle rival Corban University on March 5. Game time is set for 1 p.m. PT.

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