Oregon lacrosse’s first Big Ten road trip did not do much to change the story of its conference season.
After Thursday’s 20-2 loss at No. 25 Ohio State, the Ducks followed it with another lopsided defeat at Michigan, turning a promising start into a 16-3 loss. That leaves Oregon at 6-6 overall and still searching for its first Big Ten win at 0-4 after a weekend that again showed how thin the margin is between competing early and sustaining it for 60 minutes.
The frustrating part is that there were
flashes.
Against Ohio State, Oregon hung around for a quarter. Avery Young erased an early deficit with a first-quarter equalizer, Kate Shields came up with four saves in the opening 15 minutes, and the Ducks trailed just 3-2 after one. From there, though, the Buckeyes took over completely. Ohio State closed the first half on an 8-0 run, forced a running clock early in the second half, and overwhelmed Oregon 33-11 in shots. Emma Ing added the Ducks’ only other goal late, but by then the game had long since gotten away from them.
Sunday at Michigan followed a similar script, only with an even crueler turn.
Oregon actually opened in control. Young scored first, Gabby Santucci made it 2-0, and for a brief stretch the Ducks looked like they might finally have found some footing in conference play.
But once Michigan settled in, the collapse came quickly. The Wolverines scored five times in the final 8:01 of the first quarter to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 lead, then kept pressing from there. Michigan stretched the margin to 7-2 by halftime, led 13-3 after three quarters, and closed out the 16-3 win. Emma Ing scored Oregon’s only goal after the opening burst, while Michigan repeatedly cashed in during player-up situations and controlled possession off the draw for most of the afternoon.
That is the real issue right now for Oregon in Big Ten play. The Ducks have shown they can compete in short stretches, but once momentum flips, they have not been able to stop the avalanche. Ohio State ripped off eight straight goals after Oregon stayed within one quarter. Michigan answered a 2-0 Oregon lead with a 5-0 quarter-ending surge and never looked back. In both games, the Ducks struggled to generate enough offense to relieve pressure while also having trouble slowing opponents once possessions started stacking up.
Shields deserves some credit for battling through a punishing weekend in cage. She kept Oregon afloat early at Ohio State and made several key saves against Michigan as the Ducks were pinned back for long stretches. But Oregon cannot ask its goalkeepers to absorb that kind of volume every weekend and expect different results.
The Ducks are now deep enough into conference play that the pattern is hard to ignore. Big Ten opponents are punishing mistakes, winning the possession battle, and turning Oregon’s brief cold stretches into game-deciding runs. Until the Ducks can find a way to stop those swings, Big Ten play is going to keep looking like this.
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