Ducks Lose Steam in Defeat to Stanford

Sunday, March 19

Eugene, OR

12:00 PM

University of Oregon

3-4, 0-2Pac-12

Stanford

4-4, 2-1Pac-12

Stanford

Oregon

Photo by: Sydney Becker

03/19/23 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score

EUGENE, Ore. — Despite a back-and-forth first half against the Cardinal, Oregon could not keep pace in an eventual 18-8 defeat.

The Ducks (3-4) were carried offensively behind a career-high six goals from Gabby Cleveland, all coming within the first 30 minutes of Sunday's game.

"I love the heart and hustle from our team," said coach Chelsea Hoffmann following the loss. "We got to look back at that first half at what we were doing well and try to replicate that every day." Coach Hoffmann made it evident that the Ducks are not backing down. "Our leadership feels there is a lot of belief in that we can be a top-contending team," she said in regards to the team's postgame energy. "We have to enjoy the opportunity to play two different opponents we have not seen in 12 months or so. The biggest thing is trying to reset and refocus to use the good pieces of our game against Cal and Stanford and put it all together."

How it Happened: Stanford (4-4) found the back of the net first, tallying the game's opening goal forty-one seconds into the contest. Cleveland was the focal point in the opening quarter, scoring three consecutive goals to put the Ducks in front. The Cardinal would score with under a minute in the first, but Cleveland answered the call and tied the game up as time expired to make it 4-4.

The game remained tightly contested going into the second, with two more goals from Cleveland capped off her career day and helped maintain an even 6-6 score. Lauren Rismani's fourth goal on the season helped tie the game at 7-7 with just over a minute remaining in the half, but a response from Cardinal gave them an 8-7 lead heading into the break.

From there, the Ducks ran out of steam in the second half, despite a tremendous effort from Paige Crowther. The sophomore finished Sunday with a career-best 13 saves, seeing 31 shots. In the second half, the Ducks could not overcome being outshot 18-7 and surrendering a 24-5 draw control advantage throughout the game leading to the final score.

Notable: Cleveland's performance on Sunday was her fifth consecutive game with multiple points … Morgan McCarthy extended her goal-scoring streak to 18 games after finding the net in the fourth quarter … Haley Taylor extended her point streak to six games with her third multi-assist game of the season.

Up Next: The Ducks are on the road for the first time in conference play as they head to Tempe, Ariz., to take on Arizona State (3 p.m. MST, ASU Live Stream).