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WELCOME TO LINFIELD UNIVERSITY

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STATISTICS

Katie Putnam, McKenzie Heckman

PENALTY

Sam Haynes

Julia Alvarez

VIDEO

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Funk, Joe Stuart, Joel Nelson

Kelly Bird, Chase Fisk, Felipe Unker 20 grayce miller

WILDCAT SPOTLIGHT

rolling with the flow

Adapting to a new coach who brings a fresh outlook to the program has renewed Evelyn Cross’s devotion to her sport

by Kalina zagyva ’29

For Evelyn Cross, perseverance prevails as the most important quality a lacrosse player can have.

The Linfield University sophomore showcases this quality regularly on the field and in her daily life.

The San Diego, California, native notes last year’s Wildcats lacrosse season seemed rocky compared to the new beginning of this year. With the introduction of head coach Monica Potter, the team dynamic is in a much better place.“The improvement from last year is really crazy,” says the attack player.

“We have a new coach and she has changed the dynamic of how people view lacrosse. It’s made people want to be there more. Their attitudes changed, which changed how they acted and how they treated other people. This year, it’s really fun to be around everyone and there are no conflicts.” Naturally, the change in coach required adjustments from the team. Cross believes that recalibrating towards her coach’s advice and taking critiques is essential for the team’s success.

“As a small team, it’s really important that we (make proper adjustments), because we don’t have people who can switch in if you’re not doing something right.”

A women’s lacrosse match consists of 12 athletes from each team on the field at once. Linfield’s 2026 squad fields the minimum 12 players, meaning there are no available substitutes for game play.

“You just have to continually Cross. “I think we’re really getting just makes it more nerve-wracking

Lacrosse was not always choice.

“I played soccer my whole says. When she began looking in sports near the end of her seventh-grade year, Cross took inspiration from sister, Brooklyn, who played lacrosse time. The transition marked the what would become Evelyn Cross’s passion in sports.

While at Monte Vista High Valley, California, Cross balanced a three-sport athlete. She competed Vista’s soccer and tennis team crosse. Cross’s commitment had to four hours a day.

When the time came to choose

pursue at the collegiate level, Cross happily selected lacrosse.

“I enjoy it the most and I excel at it the most,” she says. “Lacrosse has always had a good environment.”

Before arriving at Linfield, Cross gained team leadership experience at Monte Vista. As her coach in high school, Cross’s father, Scott, was able to watch her grow as both a player and a leader.

“Evelyn was captain, the most experienced player and had to become unofficial co-coach,” says Scott. “And at that point, it was like me coaching her on how to coach people and a team. For her, it’s not about what makes her better, it’s about how she can contribute to make the team better.”

This selfless mentality followed Evelyn Cross as she joined Linfield’s lacrosse program, where she envisioned herself gaining a leadership role.

“I need to learn how to manage a team,” Cross explains. In the midst of her second season at Linfield, she believes she still has a long way to go until she is prepared to lead a collegiate team.

Cross notes that she may not be able to become team captain until she fully recovers from her on-going injury.

A year ago, Cross began experiencing pain in her knee, with medical professionals unable to pinpoint the cause. She underwent surgery several months ago with no relief and recently received injections but has yet to notice any changes.

Now, Cross considers the cause to be the heavy physical duress she is consistently under as a result of being a collegiate

physical toll on my body that I maybe and that might have triggered

other immediate alternative available, to persevere and give it her all on

be feeling pain, everything is safe getting a further injury.

an athlete my whole life, I wanted to playing,” says Cross, who naturally chose exercise science at Linfield. originally came in thinking that I was to do athletic training.”

During her first year on campus, Cross enrolled in a class geared toward the medical field and quickly learned it wasn’t the path for her.

“It made me realize that I’m not sure if I could be a first responder.”

Now a sophomore, Cross homing in on becoming a physical therapist, which involves diving headfirst into four years of school after Linfield.

For someone with as much passion perseverance as Evelyn Cross, this shouldn’t be a problem.

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER

MASTER’S DEGREES IN SPORTS SCIENCE AND ANALYTICS,

BUSINESS AND NURSING

Uncommon place

Uncommon people

Find your uncommon

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.

monica potter

alexa brandt | 2

5-0 | Freshman | M Eugene, Oregon

evelyn cross | 5 5-5 | Sophomore | A San Diego, California

Gabby crist | 7 5-5 | Senior | M Lake Oswego, Oregon

Madison de la trinidad | 3

5-8 | Junior | M/D West Los Angeles, California

Apple riso | 12 5-4 | Freshman | M San Diego, California

heidi schaefer | 75

5-8 | Sophomore | A Sherwood, Oregon

Emma gallegos | 21 5-3 | Junior | D West Valleyt, Utah

Grayce Miller | 20

5-1 | Senior | D San Diego, California

maizri chandler | 28 5-8 | Senior | M/A Scappoose, Oregon

monica potter Head Coach First Year

katie putnam Sports Communications Graduate Assistant

Savannah irwin | 6 5-7 | Senior | M Bend, Oregon

Gracie pratt | 27 5-3 | Senior | D Carbondale, Colorado

duane Duey Certified Athletic Trainer

tenley hodge | 99 5-8 | Senior | GK Beaverton, Oregon

LINFIELD WILDCATS

PACIFIC BOXERS

LINFIELD VERSUS PACIFIC match breakdown

2 alexa brandt

THE RECORDS

Both teams are set for their first counting Northwest Conference match, despite having squared off in a nonconference bout already this season. The Boxers enter the weekend with a 3-2 overall record while the Wildcats are 2-3. A season ago, Pacific finished seventh in the NWC, two-games back of Linfield. The Wildcats’ 4-4 record qualified them for the conference tournament after winning a three-way tiebreaker to claim the No. 4 seed.

LINFIELD AT A GLANCE

Linfield is a two-match winning streak, following nonconference wins over Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma. The Wildcats are No. 3 in the NWC in shots on goal (18.80) and are the third-most disciplined team in the conference, averaging just 6.24 penalty minutes in each contest. Senior Gabby Crist is No. 2 in the NWC in shots per match (7.40), is No. 5 in goals (3.20) and ranks seventh in points (4.00).

PACIFIC AT A GLANCE

Two of the Boxers’ three wins have come against NWC opponents in non-conference play, but they enter tonight’s matchup following a narrow 11-9 loss to Aurora. Sophomore Ellena Willingham leads Pacific offensively, averaging 3.20 goals per outing, tied with Crist for fifth in the NWC statistical rankings. Goalkeeper Jocelyn Taylor boasts the fourth-best goals-against average in the NWC (8.29) while freshman defender Erin Casey picks up the second-most ground balls in the conference with 4.80 per contest.

SERIES HISTORY

Pacific snapped a 14-match losing streak to Linfield on February 28, taking down the Wildcats 10-8 in Forest Grove. With the win, the Boxers grabbed a 20-19 advantage in the all-time series.

NORTHWEST CONFERENCE

LACROSSE STANDINGS

22 heidi schaefer

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. Funk 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.

RECENT HONORS

Competing in a national competition, Linfield’s cheer team returns with a pair of fifth-place trophies

Linfield cheer competed recently at the 2026 USA Spirit Nationals & Collegiate Championships, bringing home a pair of fifth-place trophies in two categories.

“Having the opportunity to come to Anaheim for USA nationals, was one of a kind and something we will all cherish forever,” said freshman Taylor Mason following the competition.

In the Game Day Fight Song College Finals category, the Wildcats placed tenth with an event score of 87.4.

Linfield earned its first trophy in the Game Day Situational Sideline/Cheer College Finals, totaling an impressive 94.8 event score. The ‘Cats finished fifth out of 12 teams in the category.

“It’s always so rewarding to represent Linfield in a positive light, but there was something special about doing it at USA Nationals 2026,” said senior captain Miki Dunham on the opportunity to compete at the national level.

In the finals for the 4-Year Game Day Band Chant, Linfield took home another fifth-place trophy, racking up a 91.3 event score.

“As a team we were determined to bring hardware back to McMinnville,” said Dunham. “We were disciplined and driven to meet our goal. I’m so proud that we have not just met our goal we exceeded it by bringing 2 trophies back to Mac! Being a part of this team the last four years has helped me grow as a person and as an athlete, I am so lucky to have been surrounded by such amazing teammates pushing me to my best every single day.”