University of Oregon
9-5
UC Davis
5-5
Gatti's Five Goals Pace Ducks to Victory Over Aggies
04/10/16 | Women's Lacrosse
EUGENE – Led by a career-high five goals from sophomore midfielder Mariah Gatti, the Oregon lacrosse team got back on track Sunday afternoon with a 15-3 drubbing of UC Davis at Papé Field.
How It Happened: The Ducks (9-5, 4-3 MPSF) came out hot, scoring four goals within the first 10 minutes to immediate grab control of the game.
Sophomore attacker Cambi Cukar got things started for Oregon, netting a goal off an assist from Carly O'Connell a minute-and-a-half into the game. Madeline Reece followed shortly after with an unassisted score to put the Ducks up 2-0.
Mariah Gatti capped the run, scoring her first goal of the day unassisted before converting on a free position 8-meter opportunity to inflate the Oregon lead to 4-0 with 20 minutes to go in the first.
The Aggies would have the final word of the half, however, getting a pair of goals from Ellie Delich and Taylor Cuenin midway through the period to cut the Duck advantage to 4-2. Both teams went scoreless for the remainder of the half, and the Ducks carried a 4-2 lead into the locker room.
Gatti got back to work out of the gate in the second half, rifling in the first score of the frame off an assist from freshman Shannon Williams. Gatti found the net again, this time unassisted, to stretch the Oregon edge to 6-2 with 26:19 remaining.
UC Davis's Courtney Neff scored shortly after to cut the lead to three, but that was as close as the Aggies would get again, as Williams connected to O'Connell on a pair of goals to push it back to 8-3.
O'Connell scored a third straight on a free position shot before Reece tallied her second of the day, unassisted. Williams added to the lead with two goals of her own, both assisted by O'Connell, to inflate the lead to 12-3.
Oregon got goals from Gatti, Williams and Natalie Modly in the final minutes of the game to finish off the Aggies. Jenna Morris earned her ninth win of the season with four saves and only three goals allowed.
Who Stood Out: The Ducks had a number of impressive performances on both sides of the ball on Sunday. Carly O'Connell did a little bit of everything for Oregon, adding three goals, four assists, three ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover. Gatti scored a career-high five goals while picking up two ground balls. Shannon Williams tallied three goals and three assists, while freshman Madeline Reece netted a career-high two goals.
On the defensive side, Jill Zubillaga picked up two ground balls, a draw control and caused two turnovers. Katie Marlatt and Jackie Moccia each caused two turnovers as well.
Notable: Oregon held the Aggies to only three shots in the second half and outshot UC Davis, 35-9 … Cambi Cukar passed off one assist today, giving her 41 for the season which is three away from tying Shannon Propst's school-record 44.
Up Next: After a bye week this weekend, the Ducks look ahead to the final two home games of the season. Oregon hosts Denver on April 22 at 5 p.m., before returning on Sunday for a matchup with Colorado and Senior Day on April 24 at 11 a.m.
