Tuesday, February 11
Eugene, OR
11:00 a.m.
University of Oregon
2-0
17
vs
7
Stetson
1-1
1
2
3
4
F
STETSON
2
1
4
0
7
OREGON
3
4
6
4
17
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Ducks Start Fast, Finish Strong To Win Again
02/11/25 | Women's Lacrosse
Junior midfielder Anna Simmons has scored 13 times in two games after tying the UO single-game record with seven in Tuesday's win over Stetson.
EUGENE, Ore. — As the Oregon lacrosse team was walking off Papé Field following Tuesday's win over Stetson, the Big Ten Conference announced that UO junior Anna Simmons had been named the conference's midfielder of the week.
The honor stemmed from Simmons' six-goal performance in Friday's season-opening win over Butler. And based on Tuesday's encore, it might not be the last such honor for Simmons this season — or even this month.
Simmons raised the bar Tuesday, one-upping her own performance from Friday by tying the school single-game record with seven goals as the UO women beat Stetson, 17-7. Avery Young added four goals and Bri Carrasquillo also had a hat trick for the Ducks, finishing it off with a pair of goals in the fourth quarter as Oregon finished much stronger than it did in Friday's otherwise dominant performance against Butler.
"Our main focus was, even when we're tired, we're still gonna execute our concepts, push the fastbreak, get into our sets," Simmons said. "Even when we're tired, even if we feel like we're up, we're still going super hard."
Simmons tied the UO record for goals in a game shared by Jana Drummond and Hanna Hilcoff. She also won five draws, helped the Ducks force 15 turnovers and won a groundball Tuesday.
"So awesome," UO head coach Jessica Drummond said of watching Simmons tie the record shared by her twin sister and former UO teammate. "She rides so hard, she had those great caused turnovers, getting those draw controls, pushing those shots to get a fastbreak — really, really proud of her play today."
How It Happened: After scoring just 12 seconds into Friday's match, Simmons opened Tuesday's game by scoring in 10 seconds, and she made it 2-0 less than 3 minutes later. Stetson answered with two goals to tie it, but Simmons completed her hat trick less than 10 minutes into the opening quarter and Oregon led the rest of the way.
Simmons had another hat trick within a single period in the third quarter, and tied the UO record with her seventh goal in the fourth.
"That's just a testament to my team," she said of tying the record. "I wouldn't be able to do that without them — they're always setting me up, and pushing me in practice so that when it comes to game time, I feel prepared and can find some success on the field."
After Stetson scored to get back within 4-3 midway through the second, the Ducks shut out the Hatters the rest of the first half. Paige Crowther and Cassidy Eckert split time in the net for Oregon, and benefited from defensive pressure that led to a 40-20 shots advantage for the Ducks.
"We talked a lot about getting that physicality outside the 12, so we're not putting them on the 8-meter, giving them those free shots," Drummond said. "So that was really awesome to see."
Goals from Carrasquillo, Liv Kozitza, Jenae Sperling and Young followed Simmons' opening trio, and gave Oregon a 7-3 lead at halftime. Sperling scored again to open the second half, and Young completed her hat trick in the third as the Ducks took some of the offensive load off the shoulders of Simmons for a spell.
"She came up to us maybe after a couple shots in the first quarter and was like, they're getting tough on me," Young said. "You guys have to step in and take that role, and not just on offense. That's just being communicative and being like, OK, if she's not gonna get it in, we have to."
Simmons couldn't be held in check for long, however, scoring three more times in the third. The Ducks then outscored Stetson in the fourth, 4-0, after being outscored 2-1 by Butler in Friday's fourth quarter.
Up Next: The Ducks host Columbia on Saturday (noon, B1G+).
The honor stemmed from Simmons' six-goal performance in Friday's season-opening win over Butler. And based on Tuesday's encore, it might not be the last such honor for Simmons this season — or even this month.
Simmons raised the bar Tuesday, one-upping her own performance from Friday by tying the school single-game record with seven goals as the UO women beat Stetson, 17-7. Avery Young added four goals and Bri Carrasquillo also had a hat trick for the Ducks, finishing it off with a pair of goals in the fourth quarter as Oregon finished much stronger than it did in Friday's otherwise dominant performance against Butler.
"Our main focus was, even when we're tired, we're still gonna execute our concepts, push the fastbreak, get into our sets," Simmons said. "Even when we're tired, even if we feel like we're up, we're still going super hard."
Simmons tied the UO record for goals in a game shared by Jana Drummond and Hanna Hilcoff. She also won five draws, helped the Ducks force 15 turnovers and won a groundball Tuesday.
"So awesome," UO head coach Jessica Drummond said of watching Simmons tie the record shared by her twin sister and former UO teammate. "She rides so hard, she had those great caused turnovers, getting those draw controls, pushing those shots to get a fastbreak — really, really proud of her play today."
How It Happened: After scoring just 12 seconds into Friday's match, Simmons opened Tuesday's game by scoring in 10 seconds, and she made it 2-0 less than 3 minutes later. Stetson answered with two goals to tie it, but Simmons completed her hat trick less than 10 minutes into the opening quarter and Oregon led the rest of the way.
Simmons had another hat trick within a single period in the third quarter, and tied the UO record with her seventh goal in the fourth.
"That's just a testament to my team," she said of tying the record. "I wouldn't be able to do that without them — they're always setting me up, and pushing me in practice so that when it comes to game time, I feel prepared and can find some success on the field."
After Stetson scored to get back within 4-3 midway through the second, the Ducks shut out the Hatters the rest of the first half. Paige Crowther and Cassidy Eckert split time in the net for Oregon, and benefited from defensive pressure that led to a 40-20 shots advantage for the Ducks.
"We talked a lot about getting that physicality outside the 12, so we're not putting them on the 8-meter, giving them those free shots," Drummond said. "So that was really awesome to see."
Goals from Carrasquillo, Liv Kozitza, Jenae Sperling and Young followed Simmons' opening trio, and gave Oregon a 7-3 lead at halftime. Sperling scored again to open the second half, and Young completed her hat trick in the third as the Ducks took some of the offensive load off the shoulders of Simmons for a spell.
"She came up to us maybe after a couple shots in the first quarter and was like, they're getting tough on me," Young said. "You guys have to step in and take that role, and not just on offense. That's just being communicative and being like, OK, if she's not gonna get it in, we have to."
Simmons couldn't be held in check for long, however, scoring three more times in the third. The Ducks then outscored Stetson in the fourth, 4-0, after being outscored 2-1 by Butler in Friday's fourth quarter.
Up Next: The Ducks host Columbia on Saturday (noon, B1G+).
Team Stats
STET
ORE
Shots
20
40
Turnovers
15
8
Caused Turnovers
3
6
Draw Controls
12
15
Free-Position Shots
3
5
Ground Balls
6
16
Game Leaders
Players
G
7
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
1
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's LacrosseJessica Drummond | Postgame vs. Central Michigan
Sunday, February 23
Jenae Sperling | Postgame vs. Central Michigan
Sunday, February 23
Paige Crowther | Postgame vs. Central Michigan
Sunday, February 23
Jessica Drummond | Postgame vs. Stetson
Wednesday, February 12
