Eight Ducks Score as Lacrosse Wins Season Opener

Friday, February 7

Eugene, OR

5:00 p.m.

University of Oregon

1-0

Butler

0-1

BUTLER

OREGON

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

02/07/25 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

EUGENE, Ore. – It only took Oregon lacrosse 12 seconds to find its first goal of the 2025 season and the Ducks never looked back, using 14 first-half goals to secure an 18-6 win over Butler at Papé Field on Friday.

The UO offense looked to be firing on all cylinders from the get-go as eight of Oregon's first nine goals all came from the stick of a different Duck. The defense also showed its strength early on in the match, allowing only two shots in the first two quarters of play, both of which were saved by Paige Crowther.

"We always talk about starting hard, getting fired up to defend Papé," said head coach Jessica Drummond. "I think we came out with excitement and it's good to see that. It's good to see that we can start right away."

Anna Simmons led the way for Oregon with six goals, matching her career-high, and Avery Young tallied her first collegiate hat trick in her first game at Papé Field in almost a year to go along with a pair of assists. Rachel Pallo was a force to be reckoned with in the center circle, winning nine draw controls as the Ducks held an 18-8 advantage for the game.

Crowther and Cassidy Eckert each spent 30 minutes in goal and recorded a pair of saves apiece. The Ducks made it hard for Butler to build any momentum offensively with some superb defense in the midfield all night, forcing 13 total turnovers and allowing only 13 shots.

"Tonight we had a spark in us," Simmons said. "We went out, gave it 100%, and I think that was a great way to start our season and really set the tone."

How It Happened: Pallo won the first draw of the season and immediately took off for the open grass in front of her before setting up newcomer Bri Carrasquillo with a golden look at goal just 12 seconds after the opening whistle. A Butler turnover led to an Oregon counterattack, where Young was able to find an open Simmons for the easy score to double the Ducks' advantage. Free position goals from Alex Matsuoka and Liv Kozitza – the first score of her collegiate career – gave the Ducks a 4-0 edge before Carrasquillo slotted home her second of the night with 6:45 remaining in the quarter. Though the Ducks continued to generate scoring chances, they could not find the back of the net for the remainder of the period and went into the second with a 5-0 lead.

Oregon scored four goals in the first three-and-a-half minutes of action in the second to widen their advantage, as Emma Ing, Gabby Santucci, Lyla Hurley and Young all found netting for the first time in 2025. Simmons then took control of the game, scoring four unanswered goals herself over the next six minutes of play to push the Ducks' lead to double-digits. Young added another before the break and a save by Crowther just before the horn gave the Ducks a 14-0 edge after 30 minutes.

Butler was able to find its first goal of the night 30 seconds into the second half, but Young and Santucci answered with goals of their own to extend the lead to 16-1. After a second Butler goal, Simmons fired it past the goalie for the sixth time to keep the lead at 16, but the Bulldogs would respond with two more goals of their own to end the quarter.

The Oregon attack slowed in the fourth, allowing the Bulldogs to score twice. Kozitza tallied her second score of the night for the Ducks' lone goal in the final period. Strong defense down the stretch gave Butler no easy shots and was able to seal the double-digit victory.

Quotables: "[Communication] was one of our keys to winning the game today," Drummond said. "Just being really communicative from the sideline, in the game and being really direct with each other. You can feel that from Lexi Jenkins on the draw, throughout the whole field and on the defense as well."

"To step out here for the first time and be able to defend Papé and represent Oregon is a surreal feeling, especially with all my teammates who have been so welcoming," Carrasquillo said.

Notables: Oregon scored on 18 of its 36 shots (.500) … The Ducks improve to 11-1 in season openers since the 2014 season and 9-0 at Papé Field, outscoring opponents 184-88 in that span … Abbey Gicewicz has now started 31 straight games on defense for the Ducks … Lyla Hurley's second quarter goal marked the first in her collegiate career.