Before the fans at Papé Field could even enjoy a halftime intermission, the Oregon Ducks women’s lacrosse team had put their season opener on ice, leading Butler 14-0 at the break and eventually coming out on top 18-6.
Early in that second quarter, the Ducks lead was already 11-0, including a first-half hat trick from junior midfielder Anna Simmons. Her first-half work wasn't done yet, though.
At the 5:35 mark in the second quarter, Simmons found herself centered to the goal with one defender in her sights and the ball in her possession. She scanned the field but called her own number, planted her left foot and exploded for a vortex-esque spin move that cleared the lane for her to finish the goal.
“It was awesome. Tonight, we just had a spark in us,” Simmons said after the game. “We went out, and we gave it 100 percent. It was a great way to start our season, and it really set the tone.”
The Ducks entered this game looking to build off a solid 8-7 campaign in the previous season. Second-year head coach Jessica Drummond led that squad last year to their first winning season since 2017, so this team looks to expand off of that and start a new Big Ten era for women’s lacrosse at Oregon.
“Nervous? No, I just get fired up,” Drummond said after the game. “It’s the first game. We get to play somebody else. We’ve been working so hard all pre-season as a unit just going against each other, so it’s fun to be all together going against somebody else.”
The game started quickly, as Yale transfer attacker Bri Carrasquillo scored in the first 12 seconds of the game. The rest of the team clearly took inspiration from that by scoring four more goals that quarter, including one more from Carrasquillo and a couple of free position goals from senior midfielder Alex Matsuoka and freshman midfielder Liv Kozitza. Simmons also got started with her big night with a goal three minutes in. Those goals compiled for an early 5-0 Ducks lead.
The second quarter made the first quarter look like a drag. Oregon scored nine goals, four of which came from Simmons. The ball was shared around, as Young got two of her goals this period along with senior midfielder Emma Ing, who got her lone goal of the game early in the period. Also getting in on the fun was sophomore attacker Gabby Santucci, who followed the Ing goal less than a minute later. That pushed the score out to a 14-0 Oregon advantage.
Despite the insurmountable deficit, Butler came out swinging in the second half, scoring 30 seconds in. This early momentum carried for the Bulldogs, as they were able to slow down the potent Oregon offense and were able to create some offense of their own. Butler tallied four goals this period, but Oregon fended off this small push by picking up three of its own. Young’s third goal at the 12:17 mark proved that Oregon wasn’t going to let a comeback happen, and minutes later Santucci picked up another on a free position shot. Later in the period, like a moth to a flame, Simmons found the back of the net again. With one quarter to play, the Ducks led 17-4.
The fourth and final quarter featured more defense than the previous three. After a Bulldogs goal with 12 minutes to go, the game slowed down with nine minutes of drought from both teams. That was broken when Kozitza pushed through for her second goal of the game with three minutes to play. A late Butler goal would be the last of the scoring, and the Ducks took home the victory 18-6 in front of a pleased Papé Field crowd.
“I didn't love the second half,” coach Drummond said. “I felt we were really consistent and really connected in the first half, and there are some things we can really learn from in the second half. I’m grateful we can take that from our first game and make some changes going into Tuesday.”
That spectacular spinning goal from Simmons was the fourth of what ended up being six goals for her, which ties a career-high. She wasn’t the only Duck to get in on the action though. Also picking up a hat trick was sophomore attacker Avery Young, including two in the second quarter that propelled Oregon further to the blowout 18-6 win. Young found other ways to help the team as well, picking up a team-high two assists in the game
Oregon stays at home for a Tuesday showdown against the Stetson Hatters. This game will take place Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 11:00 a.m. at Papé Field and will be on KWVA 88.1 Eugene and KOCR 91.5 Oakridge.