(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
With just under three minutes left in Friday’s contest, junior midfielder Madysyn Sweeney scored the go-ahead goal to put Oregon (5-7, 1-5 Pac-12) up 12-11, giving her side its first lead on the afternoon. Soon enough, the final whistle sounded and Arizona State Women’s Lacrosse (4-9, 3-5 Pac-12) showed faces of frustration while its opponents from Eugene celebrated the comeback victory with jubilation.
The 12-11 score after Sweeney’s goal would ultimately be the end result, marking the Ducks’ first Pac-12 Conference win of the year – breaking a five-game losing streak – and their first string of consecutive victories all season.
The Sun Devils led from the very beginning, starting off with sophomore midfielder Berit Brookfield’s goal in the first 70 seconds of action. This set the tone for a majority of the first half as ASU jumped out to a 6-0 advantage in the first 25 minutes of play.
With a halftime score of 7-3, ASU was in the driver’s seat until Oregon went on a second half offensive explosion with a 9-4 run to gain control.
Junior midfielder Morgan McCarthy was a key contributor for the Ducks, scoring four goals on the afternoon including a first half hat trick to keep her side in the contest early. Senior attacker Alyssa Wright completed the comeback, netting a goal early in the fourth period to tie the game all square at 11.
For the Sun Devils, freshman attacker Teagan Ng had three goals of her own in the loss. Ng has had a stellar freshman campaign with 21 goals to her tally.
Despite giving up 12 goals, sophomore goalie Katie Vahle had an impressive 13 saves, boasting a 52% save percentage on the day.
Both sides proved to have an up-and-down defensive day, with Oregon’s bright spot coming down the stretch. In the first half, ASU scored on seven of its 14 first-half shot attempts, but the Ducks amped up the effort and cut the Sun Devils’ number of shots down to only eight in the last 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, Oregon found the net on only three of its 11 first-half shots but managed to improve their finishing in the second half, converting on nine of its 15 shots and scoring at an impressive 60% rate.
ASU struggled to stay disciplined in the second half, giving up 15 fouls compared to 12 in the first. Oregon also flipped a switch in the department, cutting down from 18 first-half fouls to only six in the second, a crucial component as the game winded down.
ASU will now attempt to bounce back as they have a quick turnaround trip to face Colorado on Sunday. The two sides met earlier this season in late March, with Colorado taking the win 17-13 in Tempe.
