PORTLAND, Ore. – The Whitman Blues women's soccer team battled back from an early deficit but came up just short Friday night, falling 2-1 to Lewis & Clark at Griswold Stadium. Avery Cohen's penalty kick tied the match in the second half, but the River Otters answered with a back-post header in the 83rd minute. Whitman is 7-4-2 overall and 6-3-0 in conference play.

Early Hole

Lewis & Clark struck quickly. In the third minute, Mischa Vanek received the ball off a header from a throw-in, dribbled past a defender, and slipped it inside the near post to make it 1-0.

Whitman settled in and controlled the rest of the first half, out shooting the River Otters 4-2 and earning two corner kicks to Lewis & Clark's one. Erisa Baba put two shots on target late in the half, in the 43rd and 45th minutes, but the Blues went into the break trailing by one.

Cohen Levels It

Whitman got back on level terms in the 59th minute when Cohen converted a penalty kick for her team-leading sixth goal of the season. Cohen finished with a team-high three shots, and Leah Barnes added two, including a save-forcing effort in the 54th minute.

Goalkeeper Keeps Blues in It

Lewis & Clark pushed hard after the break, putting up eight second-half shots, and Lindsey Pasena-Littlesky was equal to most of them. The Whitman goalkeeper made five saves on the night, four of them in the second half, including stops on Riley Yip twice, Claire Anderson, and Rowan Levandoski.

Decisive Moment

With the match tied, Lewis & Clark won a corner in the 82nd minute. Vanek rose at the back post to head home a line-drive delivery from the corner, with Anderson credited with the assist. It was Vanek's second goal of the match.

Whitman kept pressing, earning back-to-back corner kicks in the 84th minute, and Cohen got off a shot in the final minutes, but the Blues couldn't find an equalizer.

Up Next

The Blues will look to regroup as they take on Linfield University at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday.