After getting trounced by Colorado 23-12 on April 23, the last game of the season, the Oregon women’s lacrosse team got revenge and its first win ever against the Buffaloes in Wednesday night’s Pac-12 tournament first round matchup, winning 14-10.
Sophomore Morgan McCarthy got the Oregon offense rolling, scoring the first two goals of the game unassisted. The second team All-Pac-12 midfielder finished with a team-high four goals.
The Buffaloes answered swiftly., Morgan Pence got the offense started with a second chance score before leading scorer Sadie Grozier netted a free play goal from the 8 meter mark.
Both teams would go scoreless in the last 6 minutes of the first quarter.
Oregon’s nine goals in the second quarter gave the Ducks a huge lead which changed the complexion of the game.
Gabby Cleveland, who battled all day in the draw circle, scored on a freeplay on the Ducks’ first possession.
After a ground ball and clear by Logan Gierke, the Ducks tacked on another goal as Bailey Smith found Lillian Stump on the crease in transition, pushing the lead to two. The goal was Oregon’s only assisted score of the 9-0 run. Stump would score again in the quarter and finished the evening with two goals and an assist.
Junior midfielder Katie Collins also scored a pair in the second quarter. She first got on the scoresheet scoring on a freeplay from 8 meters. She later capped the Oregon run with an isolation goal and scored in the third, completing her second hat trick of the season.
Oregon goalie Cassidy Eckhardt had an impressive outing, making timely saves down the stretch to preserve the Oregon lead and get the Ducks in transition. She finished with four saves.
Grozier tacked on two more goals in the quarter alone. She finished with four goals. The Buffaloes, who outscored the Ducks 5-1 in the quarter, got into a threatening position, trailing by four with 5 minutes to play..
With the win, the Ducks move on in the Pac-12 tournament. The Ducks will face No. 1 seed Stanford Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Tempe, Arizona.
