It was just 8:14 minutes into the game and Oregon women’s lacrosse already built an insurmountable lead.
Olivia Pyne netted the first two goals. Holly Johnson continued the scoring with a team-leading 14th goal on the season, and Carly O’Connell scored off a free position shot to give the Ducks a 4-goal advantage that carried into an 8-6 win over George Washington at Pape Field.
However, the game, as the final score indicates, did not turn into a blowout. The Colonials’ Rachel Mia scored three consecutive goals in the final 12:21 of the first half to bring the score to 4-3.
Just as the first half began though, Oregon grabbed the momentum in the second right from the start. Hayley Milner found the back of the net 39 seconds into the half and the Ducks reeled together three unanswered goals to bring the lead back to four.
Yet, George Washington wasn’t quite finished. Bailey Forcier netted back-to-back goals and suddenly the lead was just two.
But, the Ducks defense – who had first-team All-MPSF defender Ali Scharkey back in the lineup – then began to display control. The team forced six turnovers in the second half, two of which came in the last five minutes of regulation.
“I was happy with the overall performance we had on both offense and defense,” head coach Jen Beck said. “I was also pleased with how we kept our composure through the momentum shifts in the game and kept the two-goal lead at the end. ”
Oregon shot .500 as a team, scoring eight goals on 16 shots on target.
Oregon’s next matchup will be against Robert Morris on Friday at Pape Field.
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JustinFWise