University of Oregon
Stanford
Lacrosse Downed by Stanford in Season Opener
02/08/09 | Women's Lacrosse
EUGENE, Ore. ? The University of Oregon women's lacrosse team started its 2009 campaign on a high note before surrendering, 17-5, to Stanford on Saturday at Pape' Field.
The Ducks (0-1, 0-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) opened the scoring less than four minutes into the contest on Alex Breiner's unassisted tally and held a 3-1 edge early in the first half, but the 18th-ranked Cardinal (1-0, 1-0) scored 15 unanswered goals to run away with the MPSF opener for both squads.
"I was pleased with the first twenty minutes,” said UO fifth-year coach Jen Larsen. “I thought we did a phenomenal job, but then they just decided it was done.”
Stanford had six players score two or more goals, led by Dana Lindsay's four. Lindsay added two assists for a game high six points. Lauren Schmidt potted three goals to go with one assist.
Oregon picked up two of its five strikes from true freshmen as Catherine Davidson and Jess Drummond each found the back of the cage in their first collegiate starts.
The Cardinal led 8-3 at the break and outscored UO 9-2 in the second half. They took a 10-goal lead with 17 minutes to play, forcing the clock to run for more than a fourth of the entire match.
Senior captain Anna Poponyak took the loss between the posts, allowing 11 goals and making six saves in nearly 36 minutes of action. The Ducks used all three of their netminders in the game.
"Stanford got the momentum once they evened the score,” Larsen said. Their offense handled our defense. They were crisp, and did the little things and executed and we didn't."
Stanford had a 36-21 edge in shots, including a 21-6 advantage at halftime. The game featured 73 combined fouls: 38 by Stanford and 35 by the Ducks. The Cardinal held the advantage in ground balls, 18-9, and draw controls, 14-9.
“We played twenty minutes today,” Larsen said. “I didn't see the effort and grit, and we got out battled on the draw controls."
Oregon will have a full week to regroup before hosting conference foe UC Davis next Saturday at 1 p.m.
QUACK TRACKS: Stanford improved to 5-1 all-time against the Ducks and have won three straight games in the series ... SR A Ilsa van den Berg was held without a point for the first time since 2007. She had registered at least one point in 21 consecutive games before Saturday.
