WALLA WALLA, Wash. – A back-and-forth season opener for the Corban University Women's Lacrosse team awaited the Warriors in Washington this afternoon, as they were unable to overcome a late run by NCAA DIII Whitman College and fell 18-12 in their first of two matchups at the Whit Classic.

"The season has already thrown us some unexpected challenges, and I am so proud of how the team has stepped up and used them to develop more resilience and team chemistry," shared Corban head coach Meredith Pinkerton. "They all gave their 100% today, and we had so much great offensive and defensive movement. I am so privileged to coach this group!"

Starting off the regular season with having to play down three student-athletes due to injuries, the Warriors (0-1) took to the field 12 versus 9 and held their own through a vast majority of today's contest with the Blues (2-0), as they took an opening 2-0 advantage on the road and would go on to take two more lead changes over the first half before settling for an 11-8 halftime score despite their disadvantage on the field.

After a low-scoring third quarter where only three total goals were scored, the Navy and Gold needed to dig deep if they wanted to overcome their four-goal deficit in enemy territory. However, Whitman scored the first four goals of the fourth quarter to double their lead and were able to keep possession for a majority of the time remaining to squeeze out the 18-12 lead, despite Corban scoring three goals in the final five minutes compared to just one for the Blues.

Corban senior goalkeeper Payton Nuse allowed 18 goals over the complete 60 minutes played while snagging ten saves in her first loss of the season. Meanwhile, the Blues split time between goalkeepers, with Korin Wheaton getting the start and allowing eight goals with six saves in just over 38 minutes played. Her substitute, goalkeeper Renn Novak, allowed four goals and had five saves through the remaining gametime against the Warriors.

Sophomore attacker Naomi Rauch scored the first two goals of the game to finish with three in total, going 3-for-5 in shots on goal to lead the team in efficiency among attackers. Senior attacker Sydney Davis tied Rauch's offensive output with three goals of her own, while also assisting on three more to lead the program in points. Sophomore midfielder Kailyn Dawkins, freshman midfielder Elsie Marineau, and sophomore attacker Megan Lia all scored two goals apiece.

Whitman attacker Madeleine Sherry led all players with seven goals and an assist on their own offensive end of the field, while the remaining 11 goals scored by the home team were spread out over six different student-athletes.

Corban women's lacrosse is back on the same field tomorrow morning at 11am for a matchup with NCAA DIII Whitworth University (2-0) to end their season opening road trip.

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