University of Oregon
UC Davis
Ducks Annihilate the Aggies, 12-6
02/18/07 | Women's Lacrosse
EUGENE -- Sophomore Ilsa van den Berg tallied her second hat trick in as many games as Oregon (2-0, 2-0) defeated the UC Davis Aggies (0-1, 0-1), 12-6, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game Sunday afternoon at Pape' Field.
Van den Berg was one of four Ducks to tally three points in the victory, along with Lindsay Killian, Theresa Waldron, and Jana Bradley. The three others all attained their point totals with two goals and one assist as the Ducks used a balanced attack throughout the game that spread the shorthanded Aggies around the field. Oregon took advantage of the spacing and a majority of their goals came out of a patient offense.
The Ducks outshot the Aggies, 33-19 for the game and put 31 of those shots on goal, but Aggie goalie Hilary Harkins was outstanding in the loss, making 19 saves. Harkins had 11 saves at the half and held the Ducks to only five goals, but Oregon was able to adjust to her strengths and started the second half with five goals in the first seven minutes.
"We came out in the second half on fire, on a mission," head coach Jen Larsen said. "We made it a huge point at halftime to move their goalkeeper around because no matter how outstanding a goalie she is, all keepers are vulnerable if you move them around."
Oregon goalkeeper Anna Poponyak started the game for the Ducks, making three saves and allowing only two goals. She was relieved six minutes into the second half by freshman Sam Debow, who came up with a stellar seven save effort, though she allowed four goals.
Kate Fleming chipped in a pair of goals for the Ducks as well, adding to her astonishing career against the Aggies. The junior now has 11 total goals in four career games against UC Davis.
Co-captain Jen May started for the Ducks, a week after she suffered a concussion in the Ducks upset of No. 16 Stanford. The Davidsonville, Md. native had one assist in the game but was outstanding on the draw, finishing second on the team with three draw controls. Sophomore Sarah MacDonald led the Ducks with four controls, as Oregon corralled 15 of the 20 draws in the game.
"Going 2-0 and being undefeated is huge for this program," Larsen said. "To have the confidence to play with Stanford and the way we played today gives us a lot of momentum for next week."
The Ducks take to the road next week for a tilt with No. 10 North Carolina in what should be an emotionally charged game for the Ducks. Larsen served as an assistant coach at UNC while assistant coach Beth Ames was a All-American for the Tar Heels. Senior Brooke Dieringer also just left the national powerhouse Tar Heels to transfer to Oregon after leading the team with 29 goals the year before.
