Oregon lacrosse defeated Cal 18-8 at Papé Field on Easter Sunday. It was the final home match for the season, so the Ducks honored their seniors before the opening draw.
The Oregon seniors — Olivia Pyne, Raleigh Cavey, Hayley Milner, Casey Brogan and Devon Frazer — were all given the start. They walked out onto the field with their families and received bouquets from Oregon head coach Jen Beck and Puddles the Duck before the match.
“Overall, it’s just awesome to get the win on senior day for all the families,” coach Beck said.
The Golden Bear seniors were also recognized.
Fittingly for Oregon (9-4, 3-2 MPSF), it was the seniors who led the way in the game, pouring it on through the attack. Milner had five goals, Pyne had four and Brogan was able to add one more for the Ducks.
“[The seniors] have done a great job with their leadership, so it’s nice to see them all play such great games,” coach Beck said. “Pleased to see what Hayley and Olivia did as captains.”
Cambi Cukar also played well, scoring one goal and adding a team-high six assists.
Marring the proceedings with just 18 minutes left in the contest was a lightning advisory that delayed the proceedings. Every time lightning struck within 10 miles of the stadium the game was delayed another 30 minutes. As the rain began and the delays piled up, the most dedicated fans were the only ones that remained.
As the delay continued, the rain turned into hail and the gusts of wind began buffeting the field. After a short while, the field was covered in hail and several of the lights cut out at the stadium.
An hour and a half later, play continued after the field had been shoveled and the weather cleared.
Before the bad weather hit, both teams were able to enjoy good conditions. Oregon opened the game with the first goal via Pyne, who was able to find the back of the net in just under a minute.
Cal (2-9, 1-3 MPSF) was able to take advantage of an Oregon yellow card to score the tying goal. Freshman midfielder Parker Garrett sent a low shot under Oregon goalkeeper Janelle Parker’s outstretched stick to bring the score level at 1-1.
Both teams continued to play with confidence and energy, exchanging goals with one another early in the game. Neither could find a way to build a lead as both defenses had trouble slowing down the opposing attack.
Oregon finally figured things out late in the half, pouring it on with multiple goals. They were able to do this through better movement of the ball and having enough patience to stay away from the Golden Bear trap.
Going into the break, the score was 12-3 Oregon.
Going into the second half, Oregon made a change at goalkeeper, subbing in junior Jenna Morris for Parker.
In the start of the second Cal began to claw back into the game thanks to an improvement controlling the draws. This allowed them to have extra attacking chances, which they were able to convert into good looks on goal.
Oregon was able to slow down the Cal attack in part thanks to the defensive efforts of sophomore midfielder Rachel Steinberg. Steinberg did a good job shadowing players, preventing them from enjoying any separation. She also did a good job on the attacking end, controlling the pace and keeping her teammates involved.
After the long lightning delay Oregon came back out to close the match, picking up the victory.
“We talked about just picking up right were we left off,” coach Beck said. “I was pleased they could put their actions behind their words and executed as we had hoped.”
The next match on the schedule will see Oregon head down to Palo Alto to take on Stanford Thursday. The start time is set at 7 p.m.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur