Oregon women’s lacrosse (6-2) hit its stride offensively in its final game of the non-conference schedule. Firing off 33 shots, 24 on net, and winning 12 of 16 total draws fueled the Ducks’ 15-1 victory over the Kent State University Golden Flashes (4-3). 

“The consistent stops on defense were so awesome, I feel like we’ve found our confidence in being able to create those caused turnovers and shut out a team for the second half,” head coach Jessica Drummond said. 

While Oregon boasted eight different goal scorers, efficient ball movement took center stage, along with a defensive effort that cleared all of the Golden Flashes’ 22 offensive opportunities. 

“We’re ready (for conference play) after today,” Drummond said. “We needed this big win. It feels really nice to have all the pieces; from the draw, to getting stops on defense, to finishing our shots on attack.”

The Flashes controlled the opening draw, but struggled to move the ball quick enough, so the Ducks settled in defensively and cleared at their first chance to do so. Avery Young saw the game’s first real scoring chance just four minutes into the game after she flashed to the middle, received a pass but ended up missing the goal high.

Oregon retained possession, however, and after a Kent State foul, midfielder Lexi Jenkins opened the scoring with a successful free position shot. Young found attacker Emma Ing ripping through the middle of the defense just a minute later for a 2-0 lead. 

Those were the first of three unanswered goals for the Ducks. 

“(Coach) Drummond really emphasized just getting in the game, getting hot early, getting those goals in the back of the net,” Young said. “Just getting that ball movement to X and transferring it over, it opens up the ability to see the back side and get that ball moving. When we started the game, we were doing a really good job of making sure that the middle person was cutting through so X could get the ball to them.”

The Golden Flashes’ erratic offense never proved too hard to figure out for Oregon’s defense, which resulted in an 100% (6/6) clip on clears for the Ducks in the first quarter, three of which caused turnovers. Offensively, the Ducks created six shots, most of which coming as a direct result from quick off-ball cuts from the attack. 

The Flashes converted on a man-up opportunity towards the end of the half, coming from a rash foul from Lyla Hurley. 

The first quarter total almost stretched twice in the final few minutes, as Kent State allowed Oregon attacker Gabby Santucci to tear through the middle of its defense for two identical chances. Santucci dinked the first one off the right post and the second was stopped by Golden Flashes’ goalkeeper Sydney Davis. 

The Ducks also turned the ball over five times in the first, and, almost as a way to show the sloppy offense was a fluke, they ripped the ball around the point and Ing punched one in after four separate passes left her alone in front of goal. 

Simmons made the same cut for her score just 30 seconds later, and Oregon put its stamp on the second quarter early. On the fast break, the Ducks’ ball carriers outran the Golden Flashes’ defense for easy shots on goal but couldn’t convert, especially as Davis shut down two more free position attempts. Oregon struggled from free positions in the first half, only converting one of its five chances. 

“I think we can get excited and caught up in the moment and just taking an extra second to fake a goalie (goes a long way),” Drummond said. “(Davis) was really good and put herself exactly where our shots were gonna be. So it’s on us to take that extra second.”

The lack of scoring in the second quarter after the opening 90 seconds lasted until the final 30 seconds of the half, as Liv Kozitza and Young put the Ducks ahead 7-1 at the break.

“We talked about it at halftime, just because we did a great job in the first half does not mean we don’t push our standard and we push that level of play for the second half,” Drummond said. 

Jenkins made herself the third of five Ducks that scored multiple goals on Monday afternoon, finding the net just four minutes into the third quarter. Shortly after, Young took the ball coast-to-coast, around several aggressive Kent State attempts to cause a turnover to a point-blank position before firing it home. Young became the fourth Duck to score two or more times. 

Davis continued to keep the Golden Flashes within single-digits, practically single-handedly, until Oregon finally took a 10-goal lead for the first time from an outstanding turn-around, back-handed no-look goal from Hurley that solidified a 12-1 advantage headed into the fourth quarter. 

In the final frame, each team replaced its goalie and threw in a swath of backup players. For the second time in a row, Oregon put its opponent away before the conclusion of the third quarter, which remains excellent momentum to take into the start of Big Ten play this weekend. 

The Ducks play their opening conference game this Saturday at Papé Field, welcoming the No. 6 Maryland Terrapins for a noon start time.