March 28, 2018
NASHVILLEâ€â€Vanderbilt lacrosse fell behind late in the first half and could not make up the difference Wednesday afternoon against Oregon, losing 17-12 at the VU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex.
The Commodores (6-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) held four separate one-goal leads in the first 20 minutes, but surrendered a 6-0 run to the Ducks (5-5, 2-3 PAC-12) that started late in the first half and carried into the second frame. Oregon finished that sequence ahead 10-5 with 25 minutes remaining and led the rest of the game.
“One thing that I can always say about my teamâ€â€and I’m really proud of thisâ€â€is the effort they put into every game,” Vanderbilt head coach Cathy Swezey said. “There’s no giving up in them. We were down by five goals, six at one point, and they’re still pushing as hard as they can offensively, trying to get to the cage and get shots off. I’m proud of the effort, I just think we made a lot of small mistakes today.”
Oregon owned the draw circle in the first half, controlling nine draws compared to just four for the Commodores. Defender Margaret Fee stepped in and won a career-high four draws for Vanderbilt in the second half, but Oregon still won the draw control battle, 18-13.
“I think they got their runs from the draw controls” Swezey said. “They went up on us pretty quickly with the number of draw controls they had… [Fee] did a great job stepping in. She barely practices [draw controls], so for her to step in and help us get some controls did close that gap. That’s where the difference came, I think.”
Sophomore attacker Emily Mathewson led the Commodore offense with six points on two goals and a personal-best four assists. Mathewson’s second goal was her 50th as a Commodore, in just 25 games.
“She’s just so talented,” Swezey said. “She’s a great finisher, she has a great eye for when people are open and she just knows how to find [them].”
Attacker Kayla Peterson and midfielder Julie Blaze both notched hat tricks for the Commodores, while freshman midfielder Elizabeth Scarrone scored her first two collegiate goals in the loss.
Defensively, junior defender Alex Rasmussen collected six ground balls for Vanderbilt, while Blaze caused four turnovers and added five ground balls. Grace Bell made a career-high nine saves on 17 shots on goal for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt’s three-game homestand continues on Saturday afternoon with a BIG EAST Conference matchup with Villanova. Opening draw is at 1 p.m. from the VU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex, with a pregame egg hunt for kids at the field.
