Ducks Come Up Short Against Eastern Michigan

Sunday, February 22

Eugene, OR

12:00 PM

University of Oregon

3-2

Eastern Michigan

4-2

Eastern Mich.

Oregon

02/22/26 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon lacrosse returned to Papé Field on Sunday, coming up short in a 12-9 battle against Eastern Michigan. The Ducks (3-2) were led by juniors Lyla Hurley and Gabby Santucci, who contributed seven of nine goals but came up short against the second half rally from the Eagles (4-2).

The Ducks were within a score for the majority of the game, but defensive breakdowns in the fourth quarter gave Eastern Michigan its first win in Eugene.

"This week in practice we had talked about how we need to see more from our low attackers," head coach Jessica Drummond said. "We need to be able to rely on them to get points. Gabby and Lyla stepped up and did that today."

How It Happened: Eastern Michigan scored the first goal of the game, but the Ducks jumped ahead to an early lead with Santucci scoring three goals in just the first quarter.

Santucci opened up the second period with her fourth goal extending the Oregon lead, marking her second four-score game this year. Santucci and Hurley accounted for all seven of Oregon's scores in the first half, with Hurley converting a free position shot in the final minute of the first quarter for her second score of the day.

Anna Simmons opened the second half with her first score of the day as the Ducks trailed 7-9 out of halftime. Simmons provided the game equalizer at the end of the third quarter, marking the last score for Oregon. Junior transfer Francesca Viteritti took over the cage for the Ducks in the second half and led Oregon's defensive efforts with three saves to hold EMU scoreless for 15 minutes.

"Francesca was the bright spot of our second half," Drummond said. "Her third quarter was great and I was proud of the way she stepped up."

The Ducks and Eagles were all tied up entering the final period, but the Eagles a pair of goals in quick succession to take an 11-9 lead. Eastern Michigan solidified their lead with its 12^th goal of the day with just a minute left in the game.

"They didn't do anything crazy," Drummond said. "We knew what they were going to do. We worked through all of that in practice. We get those stops on practices, so we need to figure out how we can show up on gameday and replicate that."

Notable: Santucci's four goals matched her season-best and marked her second game of the season with four scores … Santucci has had a goal in three games this season and has five consecutive games with a point … Hurley's three goals matched her career high set last season against U.C. Davis … Hurley has scored in back-to-back games after missing the start of the season with an injury, and now has 16 consecutive games with a point … Simmons has scored at least two goals in all five games this season and leads the team with 12 total scores.

Next Up: The Ducks continue their seven game homestand when they host U.C. Davis on Saturday, Feb. 28.