Four Ducks Tally Hat Tricks in 17-12 Win

Monday, March 27

Fairfax, Va.

4:00 PM

University of Oregon

7-4

George Mason

4-4

Oregon

George Mason

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

03/27/17 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box: Oregon 17, George Mason 12

Senior Bella Pyne scored five goals to lead four Ducks with hat tricks on Monday as the Ducks defeated George Mason, 17-12

By: Nate Krueger

FAIRFAX, Va. – Four Ducks recorded hat tricks, led by five goals by senior Bella Pyne, as the Oregon women's lacrosse team beat George Mason, 17-12, on Monday night at George Mason Stadium.

How it Happened: After George Mason (4-4) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead to open the game, the Ducks (7-4) responded by ripping off five unanswered goals in a span of less than four minutes to surge ahead. Mariah Gatti evened the game at 2-2 with a pair of goals to open Oregon's scoring, and Shannon Williams gave the Ducks the lead with a score at the 21:35 mark. Freshman Julia Bolte then scored on an assist from Bella Pyne before Pyne found the net herself off a dish from Williams.

George Mason ended the Ducks' scoring run with a goal with 17:29 left in the half, and cut it to a one-goal game at the 13:59 point with another score. Jill Zubillaga answered for Oregon with a goal off a pass from Cambi Cukar to capitalize on a woman-up advantage after a yellow card, and Williams scored again after an answer by the Patriots. George Mason scored twice to pull even before the Ducks ripped off three in a row to take a 10-7 lead at halftime, with Williams and Pyne each recording first-half hat tricks.

After the Patriots scored twice once again to open the half and cut the Oregon lead to one, the Ducks mounted a 6-1 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 16-10, and control of the contest. Pyne opened the run with back-to-back goals and Gatti and Bolte each scored again after a Patriot goal. Zubillaga then scored twice in a two-minute span.

George Mason scored twice to cut the lead to four before Williams scored with 3:07 remaining to help the Ducks close out the victory.

Who Stood Out: Pyne finished with five goals and an assist, while Williams matched her six-point effort with four goals, giving her an MSPF-best 35 this season, and two helpers. Gatti and Zubillaga rounded out the flurry of hat tricks for Oregon with three goals apiece, and each grabbed four draw controls as well. Bolte finished with two goals and two assists in another solid outing for the freshman, and Cukar was tremendous as usual at setting up her teammates with a game-high five assists.

What it Means: The Ducks improve to 7-4 overall and 4-3 on their current eight-game road trip. Oregon scored in double-digits for the 10th time this season, and scored 16 goals or more for the fourth time this season. The Ducks were dominant on draw controls, beating George Mason 20-11 in that category.

Cukar's Pursuit: With five assists, Cukar ran her MPSF-leading total to 26 this season and her career total to 110, putting her only four shy of tying Shannon Propst's (2011-14) all-time UO record. Cukar, currently second all-time at Oregon, has moved within striking distance of the record at an incredible rate, as she has played in only 46 career games compared to Propst's 72.

Notable: Williams recorded her seventh game of the year with three goals or more, and has now scored in 10 of 11 games this season … Williams' six points runs her season total to 51; she led the MPSF in both goals and points entering this weekend … Pyne now has four hat tricks this season and has scored in every game … Cukar recorded her sixth multiple-assist game of the season and third five-assist game.

Up Next: The Ducks will wrap up their current eight-game road swing on Wednesday at Virginia at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be available to stream on WatchESPN.