EUGENE, Ore. – Kennedy Mason took a pass in front of the net from
Josie Lillquist and slammed it home to lift the Cal lacrosse team (4-5, 1-0 Pac-12) to its third straight victory in a dramatic 8-7 comeback win over Oregon (6-2, 0-1 Pac-12) on Saturday at Papé Field. Cal trailed 7-5 in the conference opener for both teams before scoring three times in the final four minutes and 19 seconds. Mason also scored a free position goal with 2:28 to play to tie the game while Lillquist assisted on
Alyssa Studdert's goal with 4:19 to go that started the comeback and got the Golden Bears within one.
Mya Wang and
Alyssa Studdert matched Mason's two goals with Studdert also adding an assist, while Lillquist finished with a goal and three assists.
Addie Fischer had the team's other goal, while
Isabel King and
Courtney Wong had one assist apiece.
Kennedy Goss had a game-high five draw controls, while
Callan Fritsch saved nine of 23 shots faced.
Morgan McCarthy and Anna Simmons each had pair of goals for the Ducks, while Emma Ing, Rachel Pallo and Emma Ing tallied once apiece. Lauren Rismani had Oregon's only two assists.
Oregon scored the game's first three goals with Pallo starting the scoring unassisted with 11:58 to go in the first. Neither team would score again until Ing tallied on assist from Rismani with 1:01 to go in the opening period before Simmons made it 3-0 with an unassisted goal at the 13:53 mark of the second.
Fischer got the Bears on the board with an unassisted goal at the 12:10 mark of the second and Wang tied it with back-to-back goals at the 11:19 and 6:17 marks of the second, with Lillquist picking up the first of her three assists on the game-tying goal.
The score remained 3-3 until McCarthy struck unassisted with just 0:22 left in the second to give the Ducks a 4-3 lead at the break.
Studdert scored the game's only goal in the third just 37 seconds into the period unassisted and the Bears finally took their first lead at 5-4 when Lillquist tallied on an assist from King just over a minute into the fourth.
Oregon broke a scoring drought of more than 17 minutes when McCarthy, Simmons and Rismani each posted unassisted goals over a span of less than five minutes early in the fourth to take a 7-5 lead before the Bears' comeback.
Cal returns to action next Saturday when the Bears host No. 19 Colorado (5-3, 1-0 Pac-12) at California Memorial Stadium in its Pac-12 home opener. First draw is scheduled for Noon PDT. The game will be streamed on Cal Live Stream-3.
NOTES
- Cal's current three-game win streak is its longest since taking four in a row from Feb. 22 – March 8, 2019 (UC Davis, at George Washington, at Mount Saint Mary's, Oregon)
- Cal defeated Oregon for the fourth straight time with the four victories by a total of five goals including one-goal wins in each of the last three.
- Cal won the draw control battle for the eighth time in nine games this season by finishing with 12 while Oregon registered seven.
- Cal won despite committing a season-high 24 turnovers.
- Sydney Southworth started her first game of the campaign and it marked the first time Cal had changed starting lineups this season after the same 12 started each of the first eight contests.
- Lillquist (3 assist) and Studdert (5 shots, 5 shots on goal) recorded single-game career highs
- Cate Alexander (1 ground ball), Fischer (1 ground ball, 1 free position goal, 1 free position shot), King (1 assist, 1 ground ball), Lillquist (4 points), Amanda Pio (2 ground balls), Studdert (2 goals, 1 free position shot) and Wong (1 assist) tied single-game career highs
QUOTES
- "It was a super satisfying win, being able to come to Eugene knowing the importance of this conference game and being able to pull it out was amazing. We've been prepping these past weeks on handling pressure and physicality, so I'm happy we showed our progress today." – Josie Lillquist
- "Coming into Oregon we always know that it's going to be a battle until the end. This was a huge team win, especially since it was the beginning of the last Pac-12 season. There was so much belief and grit all over the field today. I am so proud of this team and can't wait to keep working." – Kennedy Mason
- "I'm really proud of the team for today and this entire week. It was a battle the whole game and we executed the play that mattered most. It was the perfect start to the Pac-12 season." – Head coach Jennifer Wong
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