A battle on Saturday night
between two of the top teams in
the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League turned into a
16-5 rout in favor of the Ducks.
Oregon’s Danny Ernst, last year’s PNCLL Most Valuable Player, scored four goals to help lead the
Ducks to their convincing victory over Washington, one of only two
teams ahead of Oregon in the
Division A standings.
The Ducks dominated the contest from the start, building a 6-0 lead behind two first-quarter goals by Ernst.
While the offense displayed a powerful attack, the Oregon defense remained strong as well, holding the Huskies scoreless until the opening minutes of the second quarter. Washington’s first score of the game cut Oregon’s lead to five — the smallest deficit the Huskies faced in the game.
The Ducks eventually tacked
on four more scores in the
second quarter — two from Ernst and one of three goals from
sophomore Julian Coffman — to take a 10-2 advantage into the half.
Oregon continued the onslaught in the second half, adding two goals in the third quarter and four scores
in the final quarter — three of
them unanswered — to claim the
16-5 victory.
In addition to solid play from Ernst and Coffman, Oregon’s Ryan Warren and Matt Connors added to the offensive explosion with two goals apiece. In all, nine Oregon players scored at least one goal.
Goalkeeper Nate Cordova
anchored the Oregon defense with eight saves, including a denial of a one-on-one fast break. Brauck Cullen relieved Cordova in the fourth and also played well, recording six saves.
The win improves Oregon’s record to 2-1 in division play and
6-4 overall. Up next for the Ducks is Western Washington in a non-division game at home Saturday.
— Luke Andrews