With the score tied 8-8 heading into the start of the second half, it was anyone’s game.
Then, California scorched Oregon lacrosse with five straight goals to start the second half and later win the game 15-13 over Oregon, despite a comeback attempt from the Ducks with under seven minutes left in the game.
The Ducks were riding high after an upset win over No. 14 USC 18-11 on Senior Day in Eugene last Sunday, but Cal’s second-half scores were enough to hold off Oregon as the Ducks head on to their final two games of the regular season.
Cal scored the first goal of the game but Oregon managed to score a pair of goals to get one of only two leads the team would have all game. The Golden Bears’ biggest lead of the first half was only 8-6 before the half finished 8-8 following back-to-back goals for Oregon to end the first half-hour of play.
Junior Shannon Williams had half of Oregon’s eight goals on six shots at halftime with senior Jill Zubillaga scoring two of the Ducks’ first-half goals.
After Cal scored the first five goals of the second half, the Ducks tried to cut down on the deficit with a goal of their own by senior JoJo Hesketh to make it 13-9 Cal. But, the Golden Bears had a response of their own just minutes later as the teams began to trade off goals until Zubillaga’s third goal of the night made it 14-11 Cal, forcing the Bears to call a timeout. The goal completed Zubillaga’s fifth straight hat trick for the Ducks.
As the Ducks drew closer though, Cal made one more push to take the game out of reach from the Ducks, beating Oregon 15-13. Zubillaga and Williams each finished the game with five goals.
Oregon next takes on Stanford on Sunday ahead of its final game of the season on April 20 at Colorado before the Ducks head back to Boulder for the Pac-12 Tournament starting on April 26.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow