Behind a six-point performance from senior Theresa Waldron, the No. 19 Oregon’s women’s lacrosse team took control early to beat Le Moyne 15-7 Saturday afternoon at Papé Field, the team’s fourth win in a row.
The win ties a program record for consecutive wins.
“Four games in a row, that shows we’re getting there,” Waldron said. “We just can’t let it stop.”
Waldron’s two goals and two assists in the first half led the Ducks to an 8-1 halftime lead over the Dolphins, an NCAA tournament team from a year ago.
After Waldron scored the game’s first goal five minutes in, Le Moyne’s Whitney Vecchio answered with a free position goal just more than a minute later.
The rest of the half, however, belonged to the Ducks.
Four more Ducks would score in the first half, including two by All-American Jen May. By the half, Oregon had more than tripled Le Moyne’s shot attempts. On the defensive end, Oregon defenders collapsed on any penetration near the goal, where goalkeeper Anna Poponyak saw only five shots.
Oregon’s offense picked up where it left off to begin the second half, scoring three goals in the first seven minutes–including one goal apiece for both Waldron and May–to push the lead to 11-1.
Despite the ten-goal deficit and the intermittent rain, Le Moyne began to make a quiet comeback.
After Oregon junior Casey Rector scored on an assist from Anna Swiclik with 14:57 left in the second half for a 13-3 lead, the Ducks wouldn’t score again until Ilsa van den Berg scored unassisted with just more than two minutes remaining.
During that 13-minute span, Le Moyne rattled off four goals to cut the deficit to 13-7.
Two late goals, including one from Casey Rector, who scored three times, sealed the Ducks’ third straight win over a new opponent this season.
The defensive lapses most worried Larsen after the game.
“The defense wasn’t sharp enough for me,” Larsen said. “I’m not too concerned about the scoring drought. I’m more concerned about the whole overall play.”
While May wasn’t pleased with effort either, she put the game in perspective.
“A win is a win no matter how it comes,” May said.