After falling to San Diego State University on Tuesday, the Marquette women’s lacrosse team traveled to Eugene, Oregon looking to finish its west coast road trip on a high note Sunday afternoon against the University of Oregon.
The Golden Eagles, however, would leave Pape Field dropping their second straight game falling to the Ducks 16-9.
Both teams traded goals early in the first quarter, with Marquette taking a narrow 3-2 lead with 6:58 to go after first-year attacker/midfielder Meg Bireley scored her 12th goal of the season.
Oregon would the respond and take a 4-3 lead into the second quarter following goals from junior attacker Hana Hilcoff and first-year midfielder Gabby Cleveland.
The second quarter wasn’t much different at the first, as both sides kept the score close as junior midfielder Emma Soccodato’s second goal of the quarter tied the game at 6-6 with 4:46 left.
Momentum would flip from the Golden Eagles to the Ducks as Oregon would score the next three in a row to take a halftime lead at 9-6.
Before the start of the third, Marquette head coach Meredith Black made a change in net as first-year goalkeeper Brynna Nixon replaced graduate student Amanda Rumsey.
Nixon’s stint in net would only last to the 10:40 mark of the third, as the Ducks went on a 6-0 run to broaden the lead. Oregon’s run was capped off by redshirt senior attacker Lillian Stump’s 15th goal of the season.
After a three minute scoreless stretch from both sides, senior midfielder Lydia Foust put one in the back of the net to bring the Golden Eagles’ deficit closer. It was Foust’s second goal of the day and 15th on the season.
Foust’s goal would be followed up by two more strikes from Oregon as Stump and Hilcoff would each snipe one home to bring the score to 14-6 with 1:27 left in the third quarter.
Foust would earn the final tally of the third quarter for the hat trick, as the Golden Eagles trailed the Ducks 14-8 heading into the final frame.
Bireley began the scoring in the final stanza for Marquette bringing the score to 14-9, but that would be as close as the Golden Eagles would get.
Oregon tacked on two more in the frame to cruise its way to snapping its six-game losing skid.
Foust and Soccodato led the way on the afternoon for Marquette with four points each in the match. For Foust, it was her second hat trick of the season.
Bireley recorded her fifth multi-goal performance of the season as she finished with two, while junior attacker Mary Schumar and first-year attacker/midfielder Elise Smigiel each scored a goal.
Rumsey finished with nine saves on 22 shots on the afternoon, while Nixon failed to make a save on three shots in her roughly four and a half minutes of action.
Marquette (4-6) will return home and will host Central Michigan on Saturday at Valley Fields at 12 p.m. CST. The game can be streamed on the Marquette University Television Youtube Channel.
This article was written by Jackson Gross. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacksonGrossMU.
