Pac-12 Debut Ends In UO Victory

Friday, March 9

Eugene, OR

6:00 PM

University of Oregon

3-1, 1-0

California

4-3, 0-1

California

Oregon

Photo by: Eric Evans Photography/ University of Oregon

03/09/18 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

The Oregon lacrosse team hosted Cal in its inaugural Pac-12 Conference match Friday, and came away with a 12-7 victory.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Playing for the first time with the Pac-12 logo emblazoned on the right sleeve of their jerseys, the Oregon lacrosse team won its inaugural Pac-12 Conference game Friday, leading wire-to-wire in a 12-7 victory over visiting California at Papé Field.

The Ducks (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) scored the game's first four goals, and led 7-4 at halftime. The Golden Bears (4-3, 0-1) rallied within 8-6 early in the second half, but Oregon turned the tide and took home a victory that followed a 10-day layoff due to a cancelled game at Towson.

"It was a hard-fought battle; I think Cal felt that as well, that they were in a Pac-12 game, and they brought it," UO coach Katrina Dowd said. "They didn't let up, and they came at us. But I think when our D settled in, they were the difference makers for us today."

How It Happened: Shannon Williams scored the first of her four goals less than 90 seconds into the game, and Mariah Gatti put her first of four into the back of the net less than three minutes later to cap a 4-0 run by Oregon to open the game.

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"We've been itching all week to play," Williams said of finally returning to the field following 10 days off. "It felt kind of like the first game of the season again. That got everyone excited."

Cal hadn't even taken possession to that point in the game, but the Golden Bears answered with two quick goals to stem the UO tide. Williams and Gatti each scored their second goal as the first half progressed, and Jill Zubillaga scored her second with 1:06 left in the first half to send Oregon into halftime up 7-4.

The Ducks scored first in the second half when Gatti tallied her third. But it would be more than 10 minutes before Oregon scored again, and the Golden Bears got within 8-6 on two free-position shots. UO goalkeeper Brittany Read stopped the bleeding with a couple of clutch saves, and Williams got the Ducks going again on offense with two wrap-around goals just 70 seconds apart.

"I was thinking about a timeout if it went 8-7," Dowd said. "We went up 9-6, and I thought we settled down. When your D's playing that well, it gives you confidence as a coach to know, 'OK, we're getting stops; we'll figure out how to score.' "

Gatti's fourth goal made it 11-6, and though Cal broke through once more to get within 11-7, Natalie Modly scored her second goal of the game with 2:03 to go, ending any thoughts of a comeback bid.

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Who Stood Out: Williams had one assist to go along with her four goals, and Cambi Cukar assisted on all four of Gatti's goals. Lexy Biller had six draw controls to give Oregon a 13-8 edge on draws, and Read tied her season high with 11 saves.

What It Means: Not only did the Ducks win their inaugural Pac-12 match, they also ended a stretch of slow starts by jumping out to the quick 4-0 lead.

Up Next: The Ducks close out the weekend homestand against No. 18 Stanford on Sunday (3 p.m., Pac-12 Network).