No. 4 Buffs Give Ducks First Conference Loss

Sunday, March 19

Boulder, Colo.

11:00 AM

University of Oregon

6-3, 3-1MPSF

Colorado

9-0, 2-0MPSF

Oregon

Colorado

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

03/19/17 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box: #4 Colorado 16, Oregon 11

JILL ZUBILLAGA SCORED A CAREER-HIGH FOUR GOALS TO LEAD A TRIO OF DUCKS WITH HAT TRICKS, BUT OREGON COULDN'T OVERCOME AN EARLY DEFICIT IN A 16-11 LOSS AT NO. 4 COLORADO

By: Nate Krueger

BOULDER, Colo. – The Oregon women's lacrosse team suffered its first conference loss of the season on Sunday afternoon, falling to No. 4 Colorado, 16-11.

How it Happened: After a scoreless first 10 minutes, the fourth-ranked Buffaloes (9-0, 2-0 MPSF) ripped off five unanswered goals to take control early, 5-0. The Ducks (6-3, 3-1 MPSF) got on the board with a goal by Shannon Williams and then pulled within 6-3 with five minutes left in the half, but Colorado responded with two late goals to go into halftime leading, 8-3.

The Buffaloes extended their lead in the first eight minutes of the second half, outscoring the Ducks, 4-1, to open up their biggest lead of the game at 12-4. Mariah Gatti then scored twice in a three-minute span to help the Ducks keep the deficit at eight goals with 15 minutes remaining, 14-6.

Junior Jill Zubillaga mounted a comeback for the Ducks by ripping off three goals in a seven-minute span to get Oregon within five, 14-9, and Gatti responded with her third goal of the game after a Colorado score to make it 15-10 with under five minutes left. Williams recorded a hat trick with a goal with 2:16 remaining to pull the Ducks within four, 15-11, but Colorado scored less than a minute later and iced the victory.

Who Stood Out: Zubillaga, a defender by trade, enjoyed a breakout game offensively with a career-high four goals after entering the day with one score in her career, and also added five draw controls and a caused turnover. Williams continued to score at a high rate with three goals while adding two assists to lead Oregon in points (5), and Gatti earned Oregon's third hat trick of the day with three goals. Cambi Cukar was her usual self, setting up her teammates throughout the day with four assists.

Williams Continues Tear: Williams recorded her sixth game of three goals or more this season, keeping up her torrid scoring pace. The sophomore now has nine goals in the last two games after scoring a career-high six in Friday's win over Vermont, and leads the Ducks with 29 goals and 43 points this season. Through nine games, Williams is only one goal shy of her team-leading mark of 30 from 2016, and has already matched her point total from last season.

What it Means: The Ducks suffered their first MPSF loss of the year, but put up a strong fight with No. 4 Colorado after falling into an early hole. Going against the nation's leading goalie in Paige Soenksen, Oregon's 11 goals matched the most allowed by the Buffaloes this season.

Notable: Cukar now has 104 career assists and is only 10 shy of the all-time program record as a junior … Senior goalie Becca Katzen recorded a career-high 12 saves while allowing 16 goals … Kathryn Blumhardt led the Ducks with two caused turnovers … Colorado's Carly Cox scored a game-high five goals, and Soenksen made eight saves to lead the Buffaloes … Sunday's game was pushed back an hour due to wild fires in Boulder and was moved to the Buffaloes' indoor practice facility. The game was originally slated to be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.

Up Next: The Ducks continue their eight-game road swing, in which they are currently 3-2, next Saturday at Towson at 11:30 a.m. PT before traveling to face George Mason on Monday at 4:00 p.m. PT.