EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon women’s lacrosse improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2018 as impressive individual performances from Rachel Pallo, Anna Simmons and Haley Cummins highlighted a 17-7 victory over Saint Francis on Friday night at Papé Field.
Pallo was all over the field for the Ducks, setting the single-game program record with 11 draw controls to go along with six ground balls and a goal. Simmons and Cummins each notched a hat trick for the second consecutive game, scoring six and four goals,respectively. Simmons also claimed six draw controls, combining with Pallo to secure 17 of Oregon’s 20 on the night.
Tied at two goals apiece early in the second quarter, Oregon scored five straight in just over two minutes of play to open up a lead thatit maintained throughout the rest of the game. The Duck defenders and goalkeepers held sturdy against the Red Flash attackers, keeping the visitors scoreless for nearly 16 minutes between the third and fourth quarters and locking down a second double-digitvictory in as many games under first-year head coach Jessica Drummond.How It Happened: After Oregon scored the first two goals of the night in the opening four minutes, Saint Francis shut down the Ducks’ attack for the remainder of the quarter. Less than a minute into the second, the Red Flash’s Danielle Hernandez found the back of the net to make it a 2-2 game.
“I told them everyone needs to close their eyes and take three big deep breaths, because that to me meant we just needed to reset,” Drummond said. “The first quarter was over and done, give me some more energy. I knew we had a lot more in us to turn up that level, and they came out and excelled.”
The Ducks regrouped and responded, scoring five straight goals across the next 2:18 of game time to open up a 7-2 lead. Cummins scored back-to-back goals, the second off a Lauren Rismani assist, to begin the run. Avery Young found Emma Ing for a goal just 30 seconds later at the 11:03 mark, then in the blink of an eye Simmons won the draw control and took it straight toward the net, putting in her second of the night with 10:54 showing on the clock. Simmons connected with Young a mere 12 seconds later, quickly handing the Ducks a lead which they carried into halftime.
Cummins opened the scoring in the second quarter, securing her hat trick with an unassisted goal. Back-to-back strikes from Saint Francis drew things closer, but Oregon kept the visitors quiet across the next 15:40 of the game, enabling a 4-0 scoring run that gave the Ducks a commanding 12-4 lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter.
The Red Flash attempted a late charge with three straight goals of their own, but Simmons put a stop to the run with her fifth and sixth goals of the night. Three more Oregon goals, one from Cummins and two from Kylee Manser, put the exclamation point on the victory as Oregon improved to 2-0 under Drummond.
Goalkeeper Thayer Hubbard started the game for Oregon, allowing just two goals while making three saves to earn the win and improve to 2-0 this season. Cassidy Eckert took over in the second half, also saving three shots.
Pallo tied the draw control record with under three minutes to play, leading to a Manser goal with 2:10 remaining in the game. Cummins stepped up for the ensuing draw, putting the ball in front of Pallo who scooped it up to claim the record.
Quotables: “When I heard I was tied for that record, I thought ‘I’m definitely getting that next draw,’” Pallo said. “Shout out to my teammate Haley Cummins, she is the one who fed me the ball. I give it all to her, she deserves the record more than I do. It’s honestly a great feeling. I wasn’t even expecting it, but I’m just so grateful and excited to keep working hard.”
“The speed of our team is amazing,” Pallo said. “We love to start off strong and just keep going. Our team works so hard and I’m so excited for what the rest of the season has to hold. We definitely have a lot of work to do, but super excited for what’s to come.”
Notables: Pallo is the first Duck since 2020 to record double-digit draw controls in a game … Simmons’ six goals were one shy of tying the single-game program record … Transfer defender Abbey Gicewicz set a career-high with three caused turnovers … Rismani has notched three assists in each of Oregon’s games this season.
Up Next: The Ducks close out their season-opening homestand with a matchup against Marist on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. PT.
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