Kennedy Mason called game. Oregon’s hopes for its first conference win will have to wait.  

Taking possession with 22 seconds remaining, California’s Josie Lilquist found Mason — who darted in from the left side and roofed a shot past Thayer Hubbard. Her heroic goal put the Golden Bears up a score with under six seconds remaining.

“Every possession matters, we had a lot of opportunities,” Oregon head coach Jessica Drummond said. 

A highly competitive conference-play opener didn’t go the Ducks’ way. Stifling defense and a pair of late scores were imperative to Cal’s (4-5, 1-0 Pac-12) 8-7 wire-to-wire win over Oregon (6-2, 0-1 Pac-12). 

Littering the scoreboard with at least 16 goals in all but one of their games thus far, the Ducks were held to a comparatively measly seven scores.  

A low-scoring affair forced Drummond’s squad to play out of their usual scoreboard-torching style. Five different Ducks netted goals, but it wasn’t enough Saturday afternoon at Papé field. 

“Postgame I just had them reflect on how much it sucks to lose,” Drummond said. “We just have to focus on what we can control.” 

A stark contrast to Oregon’s previous games, there were just two scores — both belonging to the Ducks — in the opening quarter of action. Rachel Pallo and Emma Ing added tallies while a tenacious Oregon defense limited Cal’s offense. The Golden Bears were held to just two shots in the quarter, neither of which were on goal. 

Anna Simmons added another making the advantage 3-0 for the Ducks, roofing one over Cal goalie Callan Fritch’s shoulder for a free-position goal. 

Fritch was in goal for the Golden Bears and was largely dominant, saving nine shots and allowing seven goals. 

Hubbard (five saves, eighth goals allowed) made her sixth start of the season and was largely inconsistent. After blanking the Golden Bears in the first quarter of play, she struggled to get in front of Cal’s talented scorers down the stretch. 

The ensuing quarter would be a near complete opposite of the first. 

Addie Fischer dodged through the Ducks’ defense to net the Golden Bears’ first goal of the game 

Oregon’s defense began to falter early in the second as Cal quickly scored another to prompt a Drummond timeout. 

Fischer and Anna Wang added two more for the Golden Bears, putting Oregon behind for the first time all game. 

The Ducks immediately bounced back and a slew of big plays gave Oregon momentum going into the half. Morgan McCarthy added her 100th career goal, which was coupled with a last-second save from Hubbard sending the Ducks into the half.

“I love being a Duck,” McCarthy said. “I love being a part of this program…my team is so awesome.” 

That momentum would be short-lived.

Alyssa Studdert scored for Cal less than a minute into the quarter. Her score would be met with more suffocating defense and superb goaltending — neither team scored for the remainder of the quarter.

Lilquist added the first tally of the fourth quarter, before Oregon rattled off three straight scores coming from McCarthy, Simmons and Lauren Rismani. 

“I think this has to light a little fire,” Drummond said of the loss. “[We need] to get feisty, get a little more excited that we’ve got to get this next win in the Pac-12.” 

Oregon’s defense fell apart at the worst possible time. The Golden Bears scored three goals in the game’s final 4:19. The Ducks’ offense, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found. 

Cal retained possession and quickly called a timeout with 22 seconds remaining. Lilquist found Mason who fired the shot past Hubbard. The Cal bench jumped with enthusiasm while the Ducks looked downtrodden, seemingly shocked by what had just transpired. 

The Golden Bears controlled the ensuing draw, running the clock out on the Ducks’ last-second hopes. 

“Every Game matters in the Pac-12,” McCarthy said. “There’s nothing we can do about it, we just have to work harder and move on to the next one.” 

Oregon’s search for its first win of conference play continues. The Ducks will travel to take on Stanford next Saturday at 1 p.m.