Contact: Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

TACOMA, Wash. - Rachel Ross found the back of the net with 42 seconds left, lifting the 23rd-ranked Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Willamette University in a Northwest Conference clash on Sunday at East Field.

The visiting Bearcats (8-8-2, 5-7-2 NWC) drew first blood with Emmy Manset scoring off a rebound less than three minutes into the contest. The Lutes (14-0-4, 11-0-3 NWC) regrouped and equalized in the eighth minute with Kaylie Rozell collecting her sixth goal of the season. The two sides went into the halftime break tied despite PLU owning a 14-4 edge in shots and a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks.

The Lutes continued to attack the Bearcats in the second half, finally breaking through with 42 seconds left as Rachel Ross tallied the game-winner off a corner kick from Lena Moreno. The goal was Ross's third of the season and her second game winner in the past four games, while Moreno upped her assist tally to a NWC-leading seven on the year.

"It was a crazy game today," said Head Coach Seth Spidahl. "Obviously it wasn't an ideal start going down a goal early. It can sometimes be hard to focus on Senior Day with all the emotions that go with it, which is really important, but also makes it hard sometimes to keep your sharpness and edge. Credit to Willamette, they played good today and have been playing good as of late. They didn't make any mistakes and we had to earn both goals." 

Takara Mitsui claimed the win in goal, making four saves while Willamette's Kristen Barclay tallied eight saves while surrendering two goals.

"We showed great resilience coming back from a goal down and we responded great. We equalized early and then just kept at it all game. Fortunately at the end we were lucky enough with Rachel connecting on another great corner from Lena." 

Sunday's match was also Senior Day with the Lutes honoring Lauren Larson, Kelly White, AJ Fischer, Lena Moreno, Takara Mitsui, and Krista Morford in a pregame ceremony. PLU's six seniors have a 54-12-12 record over the past four seasons, earning 49 shutouts while enjoying a 31-2-4 mark at East Field.

"I'm really happy for the seniors to win on Senior Day. They're a legacy changing class. PLU women's soccer changed when those six came on board and I couldn't be more proud of the heights that they've taken the program to. And its all because of them as individuals, as students, as athletes, and as great people."

"The people they've become over the past four years has been awesome and they're exactly what our mission and our vision is to develop great people. The greatness is they've also won a lot of games along the way. Beyond that, I'm excited to see what new legacies they'll continue to create because I know they're hungry for more and want to keep this season going."

The Lutes host crosstown rival University of Puget Sound on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at East Field.