Whitewater continued its recent success against area rivals with a gritty, 10-8 victory over Northgate last Tuesday.

The game was intense as both teams are fighting for a playoff spot as a first-year varsity program. Both teams swapped goals in the first half, leaving Whitewater ahead 5-4.

“At halftime we did not focus on making adjustments,” Whitewater coach Kris Muir said. “We emphasized that we had to minimize our mistakes and continue to play our style of lacrosse.”

The third quarter belonged to the Wildcats as they scored three goals to add to their lead and held Northgate to a single goal. In this physical game, Whitewater had many opportunities to take advantage of Northgate’s mistakes.

But after scoring only twice on a game-high nine extra man opportunities, Whitewater left the door open for Northgate to mount a comeback. In the fourth quarter, Northgate grabbed the momentum again with quick goals, but due to some excellent goalie play and team defense, the young Whitewater team was able to stave off the Northgate comeback and hold on for the victory.

Leading the solid defense for Whitewater was Goalie Cheeze Dishburger, who managed 13 saves, along with defensemen Jake Fisher, Austin Mashaw, Jordan Velasco, Joey Bobinski and freshman Jack Fisher.

Sophomore attackman Ben Hester and senior midfielder Logan Martin led the scoring effort for the Wildcats, each scoring two goals and adding two assists. Midfielder Kyle Norton netted two goals and attackman Patrick McLaughlin added two points with a goal and an assist. Brandon Lee, Blake Jaurigue, and Adam Byne each found the net once.

The Wildcats play again on Friday in a rematch at Starr's Mill at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the gate at Panther Stadium.