University of Oregon
2-1
William & Mary
2-1
Ducks Drop Shootout at William & Mary
02/28/16 | Women's Lacrosse
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Oregon women's lacrosse team came up short in a back-and-forth game at William & Mary on Sunday, falling 15-14 at Martin Family Stadium.
How It Happened: The Tribe took the first lead of the game on a free position goal at the 28:32 mark, but Bella Pyne got the Ducks (2-1) on the board a little over a minute later on a free position goal of her own to knot the game at one. Pyne's goal was the first of three straight for Oregon as senior Holly Johnson was responsible for the other two; the first coming on a free position attempt before she quickly scored again off an assist from sophomore Cambi Cukar.
Held scoreless for nearly seven-and-a-half minutes after its first score of the game, William & Mary broke the Duck run with a pair of goals from Eloise Gagnon and Shannon Quinn, tying the game at three with 19:39 to play in the period. Oregon would respond, however, getting a tally from Rachel Steinberg and a second goal from Pyne to regain control.
The Tribe outscored Oregon 4-2 over the final 13 minutes of the first half, as the two teams headed into the locker room tied at seven. Kathryn Blumhardt notched her second goal of the season with 5:24 remaining in the period to quell a 3-0 William & Mary run. After Quinn scored again for the Tribe, it was Steinberg that netted the equalizer before the half on a free position shot.
William & Mary came out strong to start the second period, scoring four of the first five goals of the half to take an 11-8 lead with 23:41 to go. Freshman Shannon Williams tallied the lone Oregon goal of that stretch, scoring off a feed from Cukar.
In a game that had gone back and forth for the duration of the first half, it seemed the Tribe had finally seized control of the contest with the largest lead either team had held to that point; however, the unfazed Ducks battled back.
Johnson led the Duck offense on a 4-0 run over the next six-plus minutes to regain a 12-11 lead with 15:33 to go. Johnson scored three goals in that stretch, thanks in part to an assist from Williams and a couple more helpers from Cukar. Williams scored the unassisted goal that forced the 11-11 tie at the 18:19 mark.
The game was tied again after the William & Mary's Abby Corkum converted to break the 10-plus minute drought for the Tribe. The Ducks responded again when Cukar found Williams with a pass over the net for the freshman's third goal of the day and Cukar's fifth assist. Senior Carly O'Connell inflated the Duck lead to 14-12 when she converted on a man-up goal with under five minutes to play.
Three-straight William & Mary goals in the final 3:42 ultimately doomed the Ducks. Corkum scored the first on a man-up opportunity off an assist from Danielle Palmucci. Quinn netted the equalizer with 1:29 to play, and after collecting the draw control, Zoe Boger scored the winner for the Tribe with 38 seconds to go.
Who Stood Out: After scoring a career-high-tying five goals in last weekend's win at Michigan, Holly Johnson bested that mark today with five. Cambi Cukar continued to share the lacrosse ball, dishing off five assists to push her average to four per game, currently good for third in the country. Freshman Shannon Williams turned in yet another solid effort in her third game as a Duck, adding four points with three goals and an assist. Bella Pyne was valuable to the Ducks in multiple facets of the game Sunday, contributing two goals, two ground balls, one draw control and three caused turnovers. Senior Ali Scharkey anchored the Duck defenders, collecting four ground balls and one draw control, and forcing one turnover. Playing all 60 minutes in goal, senior Jenna Morris (2-1) recorded a season-high seven saves but took her first loss of the season.
Up Next: The Ducks will look to get back on track when they return home to Papé Field this Saturday at noon to host LIU Brooklyn in the 2016 home opener.
