University of Oregon
9-7, 5-3
Saint Mary's (California)
1-13, 0-8
Offense Erupts in Win on Senior Day
04/23/17 | Women's Lacrosse
THE DUCKS USED AN IMPRESSIVE OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE ON SENIOR DAY TO BEAT SAINT MARY'S, 19-11; SOPHOMORE SHANNON WILLIAMS SCORED FOUR GOALS TO BREAK THE UO SINGLE-SEASON RECORD WITH 47
EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon women's lacrosse team put on an impressive offensive performance in its final regular season game of the year on Sunday, scoring a season-high 19 goals to defeat Saint Mary's, 19-11, on senior day at Pape Field.
Four players finished with hat tricks or better for the Ducks (9-7, 5-3), who close the regular season in fourth place in the MPSF. The Ducks will open the MPSF Tournament in Los Angeles as the No. 4 seed, and will face San Diego State in the first round at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Sophomore Shannon Williams made headlines on Sunday with four goals to give her 47 this season, breaking the Oregon single-season record.
"As a new coaching staff coming in, I think we're more comfortable with our conference opponents now after playing each of them," head coach Katrina Dowd said," so I think that will definitely help us in the tournament. We just have to do the little things extremely well, play smart lacrosse and take care of the ball. I told them it's a brand new season now, so it's going to come down to how smart we play and how hard we fight."
How it Happened: After honoring seniors Kathryn Blumhardt, Becca Katzen, Annie Longtain, Bella Pyne, Erin Schilmoeller and Rachel Steinberg with a pre-game ceremony, the Ducks jumped out in front of Saint Mary's (1-13, 0-8) on a goal by Williams less than a minute into the action. Steinberg made it 2-0, Ducks, four minutes later with a goal off an assist from UO all-time leader Cambi Cukar.
The Gaels scored to get on the board, but the Ducks responded with a 5-0 run to take control of the game. Four different Ducks accounted for the five goals in the eight-minute stretch, with Steinberg scoring twice to earn a hat trick just 15 minutes into the game. Saint Mary's answered back with a pair of goals to make it 7-3, Oregon.
The Ducks would then put together another scoring run, this time a 5-1 stretch, with Williams, Jill Zubillaga and Steinberg each scoring before Mariah Gatti ripped off back-to-back scores. Saint Mary's scored twice late in the half to make it a 12-6 Oregon lead at the break.
Oregon kept its offensive onslaught going in the second half, scoring four unanswered goals to take its biggest lead of the day at 16-6. Williams got the half going with her 47th goal of the year to tie the record, and Pyne followed with a pair of goals off assists from Williams and Cukar. Gatti added her third goal of the day at the 24:07 mark to give the Ducks a double-digit lead.
The Gaels wouldn't go away, though, going on a 4-1 scoring run to cut the Oregon lead to 17-10. Williams scored her fourth goal of the game with 20:48 left, taking yet another assist from Cukar and turning it into her 47th goal of the season to break the single-season record. Julia Taylor ended the Gaels' scoring run with a goal off an assist from Julia Bolte with 7:57 remaining, and Lindsey Kail found the net with 3:55 left to round out the scoring for the Ducks.
Who Stood Out: Williams broke the record with four goals, tying for the team-lead with Steinberg, who tied her career-high in goals on her senior day. Williams also added two assists to finish with six points. Cukar finished with a game-high seven points to tie her career-high, dishing out six assists to tie another career-high. Pyne and Gatti each scored three times, and Zubillaga found the net twice. Bolte finished with two assists, contributing to a season-high 11 total assists for the Ducks.
Williams Breaks Record: Williams closed out a tremendous regular season with yet another terrific offensive performance, scoring four times to break the UO single-season goals record with 47. Williams racked up her ninth game of the year with a hat trick or better, and the seventh game with four goals or more. With six points, Williams move her season total to 68, just three shy of tying the UO single-season points record of 71.
Seniors Shine: The Ducks' six seniors enjoyed a terrific all-around day in their final game at Pape Field. Steinberg was terrific with four goals, and Pyne continued to produce offensively with three goals to push her season total to 41, tied with Gatti for second on the team. Blumhardt and Longtain each forced a turnover, and Katzen made three saves in 50 minutes in goal. All six seniors were in the starting lineup.
Notable: Cukar, already the UO all-time assist leader, pushed her career total to 121 with six assists, and she is 10th all-time with 146 career points … The Ducks won the draw control battle, 21-12, with Zubillaga leading all players with seven … Oregon forced 11 turnovers, the ninth time the Ducks have forced double-digit turnovers … Freshman Maddie Clark played the last nine minutes in goal, making one save while allowing one goal.
Post-game Interviews
Up Next: The Ducks will take on San Diego State on Thursday at 4 p.m. in the first round of the MPSF Tournament.
