Ducks Outdueled in Quarterfinal Clash
LOS ANGELES — Oregon lacrosse battled back to win the fourth quarter but was unable to erase its deficit as they fell, 19-12, against Arizona State in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Sun Devils (9-9, 4-4 Pac-12) scored the first four goals of the game to put the No. 5 seed Ducks (8-7, 2-6 Pac-12) on their heels early. After entering halftime with a 12-5 lead, Arizona State scored the first five goals of the third quarter to take full control. Oregon battled back to outscore ASU 6-1 in the fourth quarter but was unable to complete the comeback.
Senior Haley Cummins was a leader for the Ducks offensively as she scored four goals on four shots in her final game in an Oregon uniform. Fifth-year senior Katie Collins added two goals on free position attempts, while Anna Simmons collected three points with a goal and two assists.
The loss knocks the Ducks out of the Pac-12 Tournament and puts an end to UO's first winning season since 2017.
How it Happened: Arizona State opened the scoring early, notching a goal in the game's first 30 seconds before adding three more to take a 4-0 lead. Cummins got Oregon on the board with a wrap-around attempt at the 5:41 mark, but her goal was answered by the Sun Devils less than a minute later. Alex Matsuoka scored from range to bring the deficit back to three, Arizona State scored again to make it 6-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The Sun Devils scored the first goal of the second quarter, but Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year Morgan McCarthy got loose in front of the goal to score in response. Arizona State began to take control of the game as it scored three-straight goals before providing responses to scores by both Cummins and Collins, putting Oregon behind 12-5 as the game reached halftime.
The beginning of the second half saw a five straight goals by the Sun Devils as they extended the lead 17-5. Simmons put a stop to the run with her long-range effort at the 4:33 mark, but an Arizona State goal restored a 12-point Duck deficit entering the final quarter of play.
Collins buried a free-position attempt in the early stages of the fourth quarter, scoring the first of what proved to be three-straight Oregon goals. Midfielder Rachel Pallo did the same less than a minute later, and freshman Gabby Santucci also scored from the fan to cut the lead back to single digits.
After Arizona State scored in response, fifth-year senior defender Lexie Likins joined in on the attack and sliced through the defense to score the first goal of her career, resulting in a swarm of hugs from her teammates. Cummins tacked on two more goals in under a minute in the late stages of the game to secure her fifth hat trick of the season, but as the final horn sounded Oregon took a 19-12 defeat to end the season.
Notable: McCarthy finished her Oregon career with 120 goals, tied with Alex Breiner (2008-11) for sixth-most in program history … McCarthy's career goals-per-game average of 1.97 ranks third in program history … McCarthy finishes her career third in UO history for draw controls with 164 … Cassidy Eckert finished her career with the fourth-most saves in program history (265).