Ducks Fall Short Against Canisius

Monday, February 13

Eugene, Ore.

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

2-1

Canisius

1-1

Canisius

Oregon

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

02/13/17 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Canisius 15, Oregon 11 Photo Gallery - Eric Evans Photography Full Post-Game Interviews

OREGON BATTLES HARD BUT CAN'T OVERCOME SEVEN FREE-POSITION GOALS BY CANISIUS; MARIAH GATTI LEADS DUCKS WITH FOUR GOALS

By: Nate Krueger

EUGENE, Ore. – A stretch of six straight goals early in the second half by Canisius, five on free-position shots, was too much for Oregon women's lacrosse to overcome as the Ducks suffered their first loss of the season, 15-11, on Monday afternoon at Papé Field.

How it Happened: Trailing by one, 8-7, after a back-and-forth first half, the Ducks (2-1) evened the game up less than six minutes into the second period on a goal by senior Bella Pyne off a dish from junior Cambi Cukar.

Canisius (1-1) was able to establish control over the next 15 minutes or so, however, with the help of some foul calls that turned into eight meter free-position attempts. The Golden Griffins converted five free-position shots into goals in a span of 11 minutes, and added an unassisted goal by Tessa Chad to take control, 14-8, with 9:22 to play.

HIGHLIGHTS | Here is a look at Oregon's 11 goals from today's game. #GoDucks https://t.co/pFQYQktPv8
— Oregon Lacrosse (@OregonWLAX) February 13, 2017

The Ducks began to mount a comeback with just more than five minutes remaining, as Rachel Steinberg turned a feed from Cukar into her first goal of the year, and junior JoJo Hesketh scored her second goal of the game less than 30 seconds later on a free-position shot. Junior Mariah Gatti capped a tremendous day on the offensive end with a goal at the 4:19 mark on a free position to cut the deficit to 14-11, but the Ducks' comeback stalled as Canisius scored with 2:37 remaining to ice the game.

Oregon started the game well, as Gatti and Hesketh put the Ducks up 2-0 in the first seven minutes off assists from Shannon Williams. Gatti made it 3-1 with 18:16 left in the first half on a beautiful no-look, behind-the-head shot to energize the crowd, and added another a minute later on a free-position shot. Pyne's first goal of the day (14:03) made it 5-2, Oregon, but the Golden Griffins responded with a 6-2 run to take a one-goal lead at the half.

Despite the hard fought loss today, check out this sweet no look/over the shoulder goal from @OregonWLAX's Mariah Gatti #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/EuTmBLMOhm
— Oregon Video (@QuackVideo) February 13, 2017

Who Stood Out: Gatti led the Ducks with a game-high four goals, including the highlight-reel shot, and also secured four draw controls after taking over that role late in the game. Hesketh and Pyne each scored two goals apiece, and Pyne added an assist while Hesketh hauled in four draw controls. Williams finished with three points on a goal and two assists, and Steinberg and Julia Taylor each found the back of the net once.
Taylor was tasked with guarding Canisius' Erica Evans, an all-American and the preseason MAAC Player of the Year, and limited her to only one goal on a free-position attempt in an impressive defensive effort.

Cukar Moves Up: With two assists today and two in Saturday's win over San Diego State, Cukar has passed Carly O'Connell (2013-16) for second in UO history for career assists. The junior pushed her career total to 87 to pass O'Connell, and now sits only 27 dimes short of the all-time record of 114, set by Shannon Propst (2011-14). Cukar's rise is even more impressive given the short amount of time she's done it in, as she has only 38 career games under her belt compared to 70 and 72 for O'Connell and Propst, respectively.

Quotable: Head Coach Katrina Dowd
On the takeaways from today's game…
"We have to clean up some of our unforced errors. It's still early in the season and we've been watching the film, so we'll just be teaching our players things like taking a second to make a better pass and look for different options. I like our zone, but we really have to do a better job of not giving up those free positions so we have to get out earlier and get on people's hands and dictate a little more. I thought it was a good game; I thought we fought hard and I give credit to my players for leaving it all out there."

Julia Taylor, Sophomore
On face-guarding Erica Evans all game…
"She's a very respectable player. She's speedy, but I kept my eyes on her hips and tried to force her to her left hand so that she got nothing on that side."

Notable: Canisius won the draw-control battle, 16-12, but the Ducks were up, 8-4, on the draw in the second half after switching to Gatti … The Ducks and Golden Griffins each finished with 24 turnovers, with Oregon forcing 15 of those 24 … Seven of Canisius' 15 goals came on free-position attempts … Junior Natalie Modly left the game with an injury and will be evaluated moving forward … Monday's game was Be Oregon Day at Papé Field.

Up Next: The Ducks will play the fourth of four straight home games to start the season on Sunday. Oregon will face California at 3 p.m. at Papé Field, and the game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.