LINFIELD UNIVERSITY LACROSSE VERSUS LEWIS & CLARK • APRIL 15, 2026

WELCOME TO LINFIELD UNIVERSITY

COMMUNICATIONS

Chase Fisk, Kelly Bird

STATISTICS

Katie Putnam, McKenzie Heckman

PENALTY

Sam Haynes

Emerson Teller

PLAY

Julia Alvarez

VIDEO WEBCASTS

Maddy

GAME

WILDCAT SPOTLIGHT

adaptive and focused

No matter what challenges may face her, Emma Gallegos remains committed to her education and her sport

by zack parsons ’29

Transitioning from the volleyball court to the lacrosse field was a completely new experience for Linfield University’s Emma Gallegos.

Gallegos graduated from Providence Hall High School having lettered twice in volleyball. However, she chose to learn lacrosse at Linfield, a sport she had no experience playing.

“It was scary joining a sport that I had never previously played or really known about,” says Gallegos, a defender on Linfield’s 12-woman roster. “It started to become more exciting as I practiced and got to know the team.”

Her freshman year she competed in five matches and started in one. She scored her first goal in her very first contest and caused her first turnover also.

Learning to play a new sport when other players had much more experience, she says, was “really challenging. It was hard learning all the rules and how to play.”

Even in her third season of action, she finds herself constantly facing a learning curve.

“Today I still struggle keeping up with my teammates, because realistically, I’m still learning,” she says, “I have to put in double the work to meet their skill level.”

Gallegos’ sophomore year saw her participate in 13 matches, starting in nine, to earn her second varsity letter. She has had genuine supporters throughout her lacrosse adventure, saying, “My coaches have been really supportive of my journey and have expressed how impressed they are with how far I’ve come.”

Having begun from a completely blank slate, Gallegos has made meaningful progress. First-year Linfield coach Monica Potter says, “Emma has a lot of amazing qualities. She started playing lacrosse in college and works extremely hard on her skills. She shows compassion for her teammates and makes sure everyone is doing okay. I admire her work ethic and how she keeps grinding away at a very complicated sport to pick up.”

Gallegos’ mother, Paulette Capener, has been Emma’s biggest inspiration, she says, and the greatest supporter of her lacrosse journey despite experiencing initial shock and surprise when learning of her newfound sport.

“My greatest inspiration is, and always will be, my mom,” Gallegos says of her late mother, who died of colon cancer in 2024. “She would always make sure to encourage me. I know that today she would still be proud.”

When Gallegos isn’t helping guard the Linfield goal,

she is studying for her major of international business; and her minors, French and studio art. She has two big plans for how her major will help map out her life.

“Ideally, I plan to work for a multi-national corporation or government agency where I can use my international business degree to the fullest.”

She’s keeping other options open, too. “If I did want to go with a more entrepreneurial path, it would be cool to run my own art gallery somewhere abroad.”

Gallegos adores the idea of travel and discovery, having left her hometown of West Valley City, Utah, to attend Linfield.

“The different environment honestly has not affected me much,” she says. “I visited Oregon before coming to Linfield and knew that I loved it here.”

Once she graduates, she insists her future career paths must allow her to travel.

“It’s been on my bucket list forever to visit the Seven Wonders of the World. I definitely want to travel to see those, with my first stop being Rome, Italy, to see the Colosseum.”

During the fall semester of her upcoming senior year, Gallegos expects to be experiencing life in France as part of one of Linfield’s study abroad programs.

“My last steps at Linfield are surviving all my classes and studying abroad for one semester. I will be in Aix-EnProvence, France, next fall so I’m really excited for that.”

Fortunately, Gallegos says the best Linfield class she’s taken has been French, so immersing herself in the French language will be much easier for her.

Gallegos believes Linfield has supported her in her education and guided her toward potential professional opportunities. “Linfield has definitely pushed me further in my education, which in turn helps me prepare for future career options.”

She expressed thankfulness for different faculty members, who are helping bridge the gap between attending college and the real world.

“Linfield has prepared me, especially my business and French professors. They’re supportive, yet make sure you know the realities of what life is like beyond college.”

Despite facing challenges and completely new trials, Emma Gallegos remains adaptive and focused, her passion for her sport evident in the eyes of her coaches and the people around her.

She stayed strong in her academics, having achieved the Dean’s List each semester she has been enrolled. When faced with challenges from her professors or environment, she perseveres, noting that “(Linfield) pushes me to be better every day.”

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER

MASTER’S DEGREES IN SPORTS SCIENCE AND ANALYTICS,

BUSINESS AND NURSING

Uncommon place

Uncommon people

Find your uncommon

LINFIELD LACROSSE COMPLEX

LINFIELD LACROSSE COMPLEX

THE DREAM OF A MODERN lacrosse and soccer facility at Linfield became reality in 2020.

In Phase 1 of the project, the natural grass field was converted to FieldTurfTM, providing Linfield teams an ideal year-round practice and playing surface while substantially reducing maintenance and game setup costs. The field was draped with branded mesh screening, providing for a more

intimate and enclosed setting. Six enclosed storage spaces to house team equipment and supplies are included.

Phase 2 calls for a new seating for 250 spectators as well as an adjoining paved plaza. It includes construction of a new pressbox on the west side of the field. Dressing rooms are part of a multi-purpose structure planned for the stadium’s northwest corner. The new

building will contain a dressing room for visiting teams and game officials, restrooms and a concession stand.

Under the leadership of Linfield alumnus Rob Gloeckner of Tarkett Sports, the grass field was converted to a FieldTurfTM surface.

The custom-branded storage containers are being furnished by Boxwell co-founder Rod Bolls, a former Wildcats soccer player.

HEAD COACH MONICA POTTER

fresh optimism

Veteran coach Monica Potter plans to breathe new life into the Linfield lacrosse program during her first season at the helm

Monica Potter is in her first year as Linfield women’s lacrosse head coach. She comes to Linfield with over a decade of collegiate coaching experience throughout Colorado and the Midwest.

Potter begins her time at Linfield after spending two and a half years as the director of lacrosse in Portland at Lacrosse Northwest. During her time spent overseeing Lacrosse Northwest, Potter provided leadership and mentorship to the coaching staff, while recruiting, coaching, and fundraising to make the club teams successful.

Prior to Lacrosse Northwest, the St. Louis, Mo. native spent eight seasons coaching women’s lacrosse at Colorado State University-Pueblo, where she was the first women’s lacrosse coach in program history. During her tenure with the Wolfpack, Potter coached one Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, one Defensive Player of the Year, and two First Team All-RMAC selections.

Potter also was the assistant women’s lacrosse coach at Fort Lewis College for a season and spent two years as the head lacrosse and field hockey coach at Division III Fontbonne University.

She guided Fontbonne to winning seasons in both years at the helm. In addition to coaching, she also served as the assistant athletic director, NCAA compliance officer, and the senior women advisor for the Griffins.

Her coaching career kickstarted at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., in 2004 as the head women’s lacrosse and field hockey coach before building the first lacrosse program at Adrian College in Michigan over two seasons. During her time at Lindenwood, she took a lacrosse program with a losing record to an undefeated season, claiming the Central Plains Division Championship.

A graduate of Webster University in 2001, Potter earned a master’s degree in Sports Management from Lindenwood in 2006. After a pair of years in Portland, the Wildcats head coach looks to bring her Pacific Northwest recruiting experience to McMinnville, where she looks to return a team to the NWC Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Wildcats went 8-8 overall a year ago, including 4-4 in the Northwest Conference.

LINFIELD WILDCATS

LEWIS & CLARK PIONEERS

LINFIELD VERSUS LEWIS & CLARK

match breakdown

THE RECORDS

After dominating PLU and Puget Sound last weekend in Tacoma, Lewis & Clark remains a perfect 3-0 in Northwest Conference play and stands 8-4 overall. Linfield sits at 5-8 overall and 3-2 in the NWC since dropping both matches on its recent road trip to Whitman and Whitworth.

LINFIELD AT A GLANCE

Linfield enters tonight’s matchup looking to avenge a loss to the River Otters earlier this season. Midfielder Gabby Crist leads the NWC in shot attempts per game (6.85) while rank-ing No. 7 in goals scored (37) and No. 10 in assists (14). Defensively, Crist is also the NWC leader in caused turnovers (2.77/game). Goalkeeper Tenley Hodge ranks third in saves, aver-aging 7.69 per contest and recently eclipsed 100 saves this season.

LEWIS & CLARK AT A GLANCE

The River Otters’ offense has been steady thus far, scoring double-digit goals in all but two outings. Three Otters rank among the top five in the NWC in goals per game: Ala Cross (third, 3.42), Aviana Gonzales (tied-fourth, 3.00), and Sage Swegle (tied-fourth, 3.00). Cross is the NWC leader in assists, averaging three per game, helping her to the second-most points per game with 6.42. Goalkeepers Kaitlin McRae and Phoebe Labuhn have split time in the game this season, both playing in 11 games so far, holding two of the NWC’s top-four goals-against averages.

SERIES HISTORY

The Wildcats are 4-2 all-time versus the River Otters, but Lewis & Clark has taken two of the previous three matchups. The two teams met in non-conference play in March with Lewis & Clark winning 18-7 in McMinnville, behind the six goals from both Ala Cross and Sage Swegle.

NORTHWEST CONFERENCE

LACROSSE STANDINGS

LINFIELD SPORTS NETWORK

The Linfield Sports Network will again bring fans live action of all home Linfield lacrosse matches during the 2026 season. Fans can enjoy live video webcasts with play-by-play commentary on their computer, tablet, mobile device or smart TV.

Live coverage begins 10 minutes prior to the start of each contest. Broadcasts include a complete postgame wrap-up with analysis and statistical breakdown.

McMinnville native Joe Stuart, a 2020 Linfield graduate, is the Athletics Broadcast Operations Coordinator, managing all aspects of Linfield’s webcasting outreach and handling lead play-by-play duties on Linfield football, baseball and softball webcasts in addition to basketball. Stuart assists with other external sports communications and social media needs.

Linfield junior Maddie Funk will handle play-by-play duties on Linfield lacrosse broadcasts this spring. Miller is a graduate of Livermore High School in Livermore, California, and a member of the Linfield women’s soccer team. She is majoring in journalism and media studies and plans to embark on career in broadcasting.

All LSN broadcasts, both live and on demand, can be accessed at golinfieldwildcats.com/watch or from within the Linfield Athletics app on mobile, tablet or smart TVs.

KEEPING TABS ON THE WILDCATS

All Linfield Sports Network webcasts are now carried on FloSports, a conference-wide pay-to-watch platform

Linfield University has joined together with its eight fellow Northwest Conference institutions in support of a new partnership with streaming provider FloSports to offer live and on-demand video coverage of nearly every athletic event Linfield participates in

An annual subscription costs $107.88 ($8.99 per month). A monthly subscription runs $19.99.

Linfield students, faculty and staff with linfield.edu email addresses will enjoy discounted rates of $71.88 per year ($5.99/ month) or $9.99 if purchased monthly.

Schools are expected to receive annual investments from FloSports to build and expand broadcast capabilities and make other investments within the athletic department. Linfield personnel will continue to staff and operate all home broadcasts.

“Entering into this agreement with FloSports was a conferencewide decision,” said Linfield Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Brosius. “While it does represent a change in how our streams are viewed, we do believe this partnership signifies a positive step forward. We anticipate increased quality of our streams conferencewide, as well as programming allowing viewers to watch college sports not just from within our conference, but from all across the country. This is the direction other Division III conferences are moving toward. Many of our out-of-conference competitions already require a FloSports subscription.”

As Brosius noted, FloSports subscribers will have the capability to access more than 40,000 events nationwide spanning 25 different sports.

WATCHING flosports MADE EASY

FloSports expects to deliver live and on-demand coverage of Linfield events across 15 different sports: Football, volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s wrestling, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, baseball, softball, and women’s lacrosse. Northwest Conference Championship events in all sports except golf and cross country will also be streamed as part of the annual agreement.

Beyond live competition, FloSports plans to invest in original content and storytelling initiatives online and across social media aimed at elevating the profile of NWC student-athletes and institutions. The NWC joins several of its regular non-conference opponents in partnering with FloSports, the industry leader and primary media rights partner for Division III conferences.

Each year, FloSports will provide a global platform to live stream over 800 regular-season and postseason events.

FloSports is available via web, mobile apps (iOS and Android), and streaming platforms including Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV. The FloSports app is expected to be pre-installed on most topselling Smart TVs in the U.S. this year.

LINFIELD DANCE

A Heritage of Confident Service

OUTLAST OUTLIVE

We’re tough where it counts. From dominating wild trails to maneuvering rushing streams, roaming vast canyons and tackling remote peaks, our trucks prove their rugged capability over and over.

The Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame, sponsored by Pacific Office Automation, was established in 1998 as an avenue to honor former athletes, coaches, staff and contributors and to preserve the memory of their past achievements.

A new class of inductees is honored at the Hall of Fame Banquet each fall. Inductees are chosen from a list of submitted nominations and voted upon by the Hall of Fame Executive and Selection Committees. The 20-member panel is made up of current and former staff members, past inductees, a member of the media, and a former athlete representing each of the preceding six decades.

Nominations must be submitted in writing using an official nomination form. Hall of Fame nominations are considered in any one of six categories: Athlete, Coach, Team, Athletics Staff, and Meritorious Service.

IN THE NEWS

Senior Ashlyn Aven is joined by juniors Tyler McNeley and Meara Sain as 2026 NFCA Players to Watch

Three Linfield Wildcats are among 118 student-athletes from across the country named recently to the 2026 NFCA Division III Softball Pitcher and Player of the Year Watch List.

The list is separated into the 10 regions and is compiled by members of the NFCA Division III All-America Committee with one head coach representing each of the 10 NCAA regions.

Representing Linfield on the list are catcher Ashlyn Aven, pitcher Tyler McNeley and out-fielder Meara Sain.

Seventeen returning NFCA All-Americans highlight the list, including four from the first team, five from the second team, and eight from the third. Both Trine’s Debbie Hill and Williams’ Sadie Leonard are three-time All-America honorees, while four others on the list — Bowdoin’s Anika Ewert, Trine’s Tyra Marcum, Simpson’s Ashlyn Steen and Makayla Steffes of Saint Mary’s — are two-time All-Americans. Last year’s NFCA Freshman of the Year, Lilly Goldberg of Swarthmore, is also on the list. Aven is a 2025 second team All-American while McNealy was a third team All-American in 2024 as well as being named 2024 NFCA Freshman of the Year.

The 2026 NFCA Player and NFCA/Portolite Pitcher of the Year winners will be announced on May 27 prior to the start of the NCAA Division III World Series.

Student-athletes do not have to be on this watch list to be considered for end-of-season awards, which will be voted on by the members of the NFCA Division III All-America Committee.

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