Willamette's women's soccer team reached .500 on the season after a win and a draw at Sparks Field on Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1.

The Bearcats beat Whitworth 3-0, then held off a strong Whitman squad for a 0-0 draw. Willamette now stands at 7-7-2 overall and 5-7-2 in the Northwest Conference, according to the team's athletics page. Last season, the Bearcats finished 3-7-9.

Claire Warthen powered the Whitworth win with two goals and an assist. Samantha Rodriguez opened the scoring in the 18th minute with her fifth goal of the season, assisted by Warthen. Warthen then scored in the 43rd minute to give Willamette a 2-0 halftime lead and added the final goal in the 75th minute off an assist from Natalie Rodriguez-De La Torre, according to Whitworth's game recap. The Bearcats outshot the Pirates 19-5.

Against Whitman, goalkeeper Logan Hellyar recorded seven saves to preserve the shutout. Whitman, which sits at 10-4-4 after the draw, pressured hard in the second half, firing six attacking actions between the 77th and 84th minutes. The Bearcats absorbed it all, according to a Willamette athletics recap. Rodriguez-De La Torre, Rodriguez and Bailey Watland all got late looks at goal as Willamette pushed for a winner in the final minutes.

The improvement from last year's 3-7-9 record has been a theme for the squad. The Willamette Collegian profiled the team's progress in a feature published Nov. 1. Forward Haleigh Seeling, a member of the class of 2030, told the Collegian the team treats each match as a chance to grow. Rodriguez-De La Torre, a senior midfielder and forward, pointed to returning players as a factor, telling the student paper that last year's newcomers developed together and built connections that carried into this season.

Samantha Rodriguez leads the Bearcat attack. A Whitworth scouting report published Oct. 27 listed her with four goals at that point, and she has added at least one since. Nine other Bearcats had also scored a goal as of that report.

Willamette hosts Linfield on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:45 p.m. at Sparks Field in a Northwest Conference matchup.