For the first time this season, Oregon lacrosse couldn’t pick up the win in a back-and-forth shootout against William & Mary. The Ducks lost 15-14 at Martin Family Stadium Sunday morning.
Oregon (2-1) had a two goal lead with under five minutes to play after senior Carly O’Connell found the back of the net for a man-up goal. But the tribe responded with a three-goal flurry including a game winner by Zoe Boger with 38 seconds left on the clock.
Holly Johnson was the standout for the Ducks, besting her career-high-tying four goals against Michigan with five. Cambi Cukar also shined through her distribution, dishing off five assists. Cukar now averages four per game, which is third in the country.
The first half featured multiple runs by both teams. William & Mary collected the opening goal, but Bella Pyne helped spur Oregon with a free position goal to tie it 1-1. The Ducks rattled off three more and held the Tribe to a seven and a half minute scoreless drought.
William & Mary recovered, outscoring the Ducks 4-2 over the final 13 minutes to go into the break tied 7-7.
Pyne spread her stats across the board, picking up two goals, two ground balls, one draw control and three forced turnovers. Senior Ali Scharkey was the anchor on defense, though they couldn’t find the stops late in the game.
Up next for Oregon is the first home game of the season, as they will return to defend Papé Field against LIU Brooklyn this Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at noon.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur