University of Oregon
9-8
Colorado
13-4
Ducks Eliminated from MPSF Tournament
04/29/16 | Women's Lacrosse
STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 6 seed Oregon women's lacrosse team fell, 11-3, to third-seeded Colorado in the MPSF quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at Cagan Stadium.
How It Happened: Both teams struggled to find the back of the net in the early going. The Ducks and Buffaloes went back and forth before Colorado got on the board first with an unassisted goal from Cali Castagnola nearly seven-and-a-half minutes into the game.
Castagnola's goal would be the first of six unanswered Buffalo scores to open the day, eventually putting the Ducks in a 6-0 hole with three minutes left to play in the first half.
Shannon Williams broke the drought for Oregon late in the opening period, scoring an unassisted tally with 33 seconds left in the frame. At the break, the Ducks trailed, 6-1, behind six saves from senior goalie Jenna Morris.
Williams was back at it on the offensive end to start off the second half. The freshman from Bel Air, Md., cut inside for a point-blank shot and score just outside the crease to cut the Colorado lead to 6-2 with 22:23 to play.
Colorado would respond, however, with four consecutive goals to push the lead back to 10-2 midway through the period.
Bella Pyne recorded the Ducks' final goal, netting an unassisted score with 7:34 to play, before Colorado closed out the game with a goal from Tori Link with under two minutes remaining.
Notable: Senior Carly O'Connell ends her outstanding career at Oregon with 199 points (2nd in school history), 113 goals (6th), 86 assists (2nd), 100 ground balls (8th) and 63 caused turnovers (4th) … Ali Scharkey finishes her Duck career fifth all-time in school history in ground balls with 105 and 11th all-time in caused turnovers with 52 … Jenna Morris racked up a season-high 10 saves to give her 148 for her career, making her fourth in the school record book in saves.
What It Means: With today's loss, Oregon wraps up its 2016 season with a 9-8 record and a 4-5 mark in MPSF play. The Ducks also bid farewell to an impressive group of seniors in Carly O'Connell, Ali Scharkey, Holly Johnson, Jenna Morris, Jackie Moccia and Katie Marlatt that have had an immeasurable impact on the Oregon lacrosse program on and off the field during their time in Eugene. Even so, head coach Jen Beck returns plenty of young talent to the roster for 2017, including standout sophomore Cambi Cukar, three-time MPSF Rookie of the Week Shannon Williams and a host of other returners on both sides of the ball, who the Ducks will look to lead the squad next season.
