There are technical elements of lacrosse, the amount of times Oregon can get into its offensive rotations and making the right decisions at the right times serve as examples. There’s also the defensive assignments, the decisions to double team, switch off, or back-off altogether.
It can be complicated.
Or, as the Ducks (8-6, 2-5 Pac-12) have shown many times previously this season, it can be simple — even perfect.
Perfection, of course, isn’t possible, the final score being a dominant 20-8 victory by Colorado showed that. But for a moment, Oregon flirted with it.
Players coordinating and communicating in sync and passes finding the right players at the right times made the Ducks look great to start Friday’s contest. For a few minutes, Oregon showed that a well played lacrosse game can be beautiful.
The work left Oregontrailing by just two at the end of the first quarter. Madeline Pisani — who entered leading the Pac-12 in goals with 49 — held to an “off” quarter with a lone goal in the opening 15 minutes.
But ultimately the Ducks couldn’t remain spotless, something they needed to be against a juggernaut of a Buffs (11-5, 5-2 Pac-12) team that looks to have the pieces to win the whole thing.
But the big takeaway from the lopsided 20-8 loss was the Ducks got a reminder of their flaws. There are mistakes they’re certain to make, they can’t always execute the right pass, shot or rotation. The miscues and errors can’t be unforced. The Buffaloes need no help.
Colorado outscored the Ducks 8-2 in the second quarter and 15-5 the rest of the way. Pisani finished with seven goals.
The strong start seemingly used all of Oregon’s momentum, the Ducks were downright lousy the rest of the way.
There are ways to beat Colorado, this wasn’t one of them.
Colorado stumbled into Friday’s matchup on the heels of one of their worst showings of the season. USC — which beat Oregon 19-8 — held the Buffs to just six goals in the loss.
The Buffaloes sixth goal came less than two minutes into the second quarter.
The Buffs went 0-2 in free-position tries in that same loss to the Trojans. They finished 7-10 against the Ducks.
Oregon was held to just three goals in the middle two quarters. The Ducks had 20 turnovers on the day and found themselves chasing back in transition to slow down a potent Buffs’ offense.
And the inability to get stops put the Ducks in a funk they couldn’t escape.
Morgan McCarty scored four goals but was a nonfactor down the stretch. Riley Taylor had two goals but had a pair of turnovers of her own. And the Ducks supporting cast was once again a non-factor when it couldn’t be.
Save two years of COVID-induced cancellations, Oregon has now lost to Colorado every season since 2013.
Colorado circled through the Oregon zone, leaving goaltenders Thayer Hubbard (13 goals allowed seven saves) and Cassidy Eckert (seven goals allowed, four saves) only to watch as shots were fired through the Rocky Mountain air and into the back of the net.
Pisani also entered Friday’s contest leading the conference in shots on goal. She finished with eleven and was far and away the best player on the field. Oregon being unable to control its opponent’s best player doesn’t help its imperfections either.
The Buffs entered in third place in the Pac-12 with Oregon right behind them. The performance showed the Ducks to instead be lightyears away. Oregon — likely a five or six seed depending on this weekend’s slate of games — will likely meet this Buffs team again, or UC Davis in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Colorado had 31 shots on goal and forced 12 turnovers, the Buffs were killers down the stretch against an Oregon team operating on the slimmest of margins.
Late-season flukes and Oregon’s potential for perfection leaves a Pac-12 Tournament Cinderella run a possibility. Still, if these same problems persist, Oregon’s playoff hopes might be just as short-lived as that early upset bid.
