University of Oregon
5-2
Fresno State
3-5
Oregon Handles Bulldogs in MPSF Opener
03/13/16 | Women's Lacrosse
EUGENE – The Oregon lacrosse team used 11 unanswered goals to pick up its first win in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play on Sunday, defeating Fresno State, 15-10, at Papé Field.
How It Happened: Senior Carly O'Connell put the Ducks (5-2, 1-0 MPSF) up early, firing in a shot off a pass from national assist leader Cambi Cukar for Oregon's first goal of the game. Fresno would answer, however, getting a Lindsay Hobson free position goal less than a minute later to spark a 3-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 edge with 12:57 to play in the first half.
Held scoreless for over 12 minutes after O'Connell got the Ducks on the board, The Ducks needed a response. Senior Holly Johnson answered the call, netting a score off an assist from sophomore Mariah Gatti that was the first of 11 straight for Oregon.
Freshman Madeline Reece recorded the first goal of her career, scoring the equalizer on a free position attempt less than two minutes later. Bella Pyne gave the Ducks the lead for good on a free position goal with 7:04 to play in the half.
Rachel Steinberg scored next off an assist from freshman Shannon Williams before O'Connell scored her second of the day. Natalie Modly tallied the first of her career-high four goals off Cukar's second assist to give Oregon a 7-3 lead heading into the half. Oregon outshot the Bulldogs, 20-6, in the first half, and held Fresno State scoreless for the final 12:57 of the period.
The Ducks continued their run into the second half, adding on another five unanswered scores to take a 12-3 advantage.
Modly added another score just 42 seconds into the half, before O'Connell tacked on two more with a couple of free position goals. Williams found the back of the net off a helper from Rachel Steinberg with 17:35 left, preceding a Modly unassisted tally just 25 seconds later to cap Oregon's run.
Kyleigh Westgarth ended the 25-minute drought for Fresno State, putting in an unassisted goal with 16:41 left to play.
Oregon piled on with a Modly goal, followed by two more Cukar assists to Williams and Johnson, to take a 15-4 lead with 12 minutes to go.
Fresno State finished the game with six straight goals, but it wouldn't be enough, as Oregon carried the day with the 15-10 win.
Who Stood Out: O'Connell (4g, 0a), Modly (4g, 0a) and Cukar (0g, 4a) led the Ducks in points with four each. Modly was also big on draws for Oregon, recording a career-high five draw controls. Williams added three points (2g, 1a), gathered two ground balls and caused two turnovers in another solid performance for the reigning MPSF Rookie of the Week. Katie Marlatt achieved a career high in caused turnovers with two, while also picking up two ground balls. Senior goalie Jenna Morris picked up her fifth win of the season, recording seven saves, while allowing only five goals.
Notable: O'Connell scored her 100th career goal today, becoming just the eighth player in program history to reach that mark … with her win today, Morris gained sole possession of the fifth spot on the Oregon all-time list in goalie wins … With seven saves, she also jumped Sam DeBow (90, 2007-10) for fifth on the program career saves list … Cukar's four assists today gave her 60 for her career and moved her past Jen (May) Derby (57, 2005-08) for sixth on the program list for assists … Cukar sits only one assist behind Alex Breiner (61, 2008-11) for fifth.
Up Next: The Ducks will wrap up this five-game homestand on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host Marist at Papé Field at 1 p.m.
