The Oregon lacrosse team wore pink in honor of breast cancer awareness and for player Shannon Propst’s aunt who was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this winter, as the Oregon Ducks beat the UC Davis Aggies 8-4 today at Papé Field.
“When you have someone as invested in the program and as loving as all family, it was a no brainer for us, ” said head coach Jen Beck about the team wearing pink. “We are a very family oriented group. That was the foucs to keep us united, and to make sure we are helping other people.”
Oregon got off to a strong start with sophomore Carly O’Connell’s goal within the first two minutes of play. Shortly after, Casey Brogan found the back of the net with an assist from senior Nikki Puszcz.
UC Davis first got on the board after 10 minutes of play with a goal from Elizabeth Landry.
However, the Ducks were able to respond with goals from Bella Pyne and Sami Kiser.
Carly Voris scored for the Aggies with just about 10 minutes left in the half, but Oregon was able to score three straight goals before the half ended. Senior Sami Kiser had a last-second goal in the second half to give the Ducks a 7-2 win heading into the locker room.
Oregon stuck with the aggressive UC Davis team. The Aggies had 28 fouls compared to Oregon’s 19.
“I think we were definitely tested with a very aggressive Davis team,” head coach Jen Beck said. “I was really impressed how poised they were with the aggressive style of play, but I also don’t think they backed down.”
Beck said she was also impressed with her team’s sportsmanship and efficiency throughout the match.
“We made sure we were coming up with more 50/50 balls and coming up with more draws,” Beck said.
Beck said she still is looking for more flow from the offense. Beck believed that it happened more in the first half compared to the second.
O’Connell netted another goal for the Ducks to start out the second half. UC Davis was able to come up with two more goals, but it wasn’t enough to fend off the Ducks who earned their fourth conference win.
“I thought we did really well,” Pusczc said. “They were a very tough and physical team and I thought we did a great job not retaliating to any of the fouls and keeping our heads up. It was a good game.”
Oregon outshot the Aggies 26-14 and goalie Caroline Federighi had five saves for the Ducks.
Up next, Oregon travels to Southern California to face USC on Friday. This will mark the first time the team travels to Los Angeles to face the Trojans. Beck said she expects USC to be fired up for the game after their two losses this weekend to Denver and Colorado. She believes that it’s vital for Oregon to stay focused.
“At this point I want to focus on recovery and getting back, but gearing up really hard for Tuesday morning,” Beck said. “I just want to make sure we get a good 60 minutes together.”
Follow Beth Maiman on Twitter @bethamaiman