By Mario Ponce

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon Ducks women’s lacrosse team (6-3, 0-2 Pac-12) will host the University of California Davis Aggies (8-3, 1-1 Pac-12) tomorrow in their third Pac-12 game of the season. The Ducks lost their opening two conference matchups and look to bounce back against the Aggies.

Oregon Ducks:

The Ducks have enjoyed their best start to a season in many years so far, but after going 5-1 before conference play, they lost back-to-back against the Cal Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal. The Ducks have historically struggled in this sport, and they finished last season in the last position in the conference with a 1-9 Pac-12 record. This year, every team will play every other team only once, and after tomorrow’s game, Oregon has four games in April. The Ducks lost to the Bears in a narrow squeaker but were outgunned by the Cardinal by double digits. Their offensive leader so far is senior midfielder Morgan McCarthy. She leads the team in goals, assists and points.

UC Davis Aggies:

The Aggies will play in the Pac-12 for only this season, as they will move to the Big 12 next year. They finished their pre-conference schedule 7-2 and had five consecutive wins at one point before losing to the No. 11 Florida Gators. Last season UC Davis finished with an 8-6 record, but it didn’t play any conference games. The Aggies actually traveled to Eugene and faced the Ducks last April and lost in an overtime thriller 13-12. So far this season they lost to the No. 17 USC Trojans and then beat fellow conference newcomer San Diego State Aztecs at home. Their best offensive performer is junior attacker Grace Gebhardt who leads the team in goals and points.

Prediction:

This will be a close matchup. Last season these teams went to overtime and Oregon won narrowly. The Ducks are a very different team now than in years past, and after two tough losses to open conference play, they look for their first Pac-12 win, but the Aggies have shown they can be very competitive. I predict a 12-9 win for the Ducks.