Oregon lacrosse’s run in the first ever Pac-12 Tournament ended on Friday as the No. 4 seed Ducks fell 16-6 to No. 1 seeded Colorado in Boulder in the semifinal.
The Ducks kept it close early on and only trailed 5-3 at halftime thanks to senior goalkeeper Brittany Read collecting 10 saves in the first 30 minutes of action. Read finished the game with a season-high 17 saves in the loss, one save shy of Oregon’s single game record.
The second half presented a different look as the No. 15 Buffs piled on the goals as they scored five goals inside the first six minutes of the half to take a 10-3 lead. The Ducks couldn’t recover.
Second-half goals from seniors JoJo Hesketh and Mariah Gatti were nowhere near enough as Colorado finished the game on a 3-0 run to win the game by double-digits.
Senior Jill Zubillaga had two goals to accompany Hesketh’s pair, Gatti’s one and Shannon Williams’ first-half goal.
Colorado’s 11-goal second half may not entirely end Oregon’s year as the Ducks will hope to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow