March 7, 2008
San Diego, Calif. – The Oregon Ducks got a pair of free-position goals in the final 15 seconds to wipe out a 13-12 Notre Dame lead to hand the Irish a heartbreaking 14-13 loss at Torrey Pines High School on Friday night. The game was part of the East West Challenge and also featured a contest between Temple and the University of California.
Junior Jillian Byers (Northport, N.Y.) led the Irish attack with six goals and two assists. Her goal with 4:38 left in the game gave Notre Dame a 13-12 lead. Senior Caitlin McKinney (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) had three goals and two assists while Alicia Billings (Jr., Potomac, Md.) had two goals with Heather Ferguson (Sr., Newtown Square, Pa.) and Gina Scioscia (So., Summit, N.J.) had one goal each.
Junior attack Ilsa van den Berg led Oregon with five goals and an assist, including the game-winning goal on a free-position shot with three seconds remaining in the game. Senior midfielder Jen May scored four goals with Alex Breiner and Erin Chisnell getting two goals and Jana Bradley one.
The loss gives Notre Dame a two-game losing streak on their west coast trip and the 13th-ranked Irish fall to 3-2 on the season. Oregon is now 5-1 on the year and the Ducks have won five straight games. The contest marked the first-ever meeting between Notre Dame and Oregon in women’s lacrosse.
Notre Dame led 7-5 at halftime with Byers scoring three goals with an assist while Billings had two goals.
The Irish lead would go to 8-5 when McKinney scored just 1:19 into the second half. The Ducks would run off three consecutive goals to tie the game 8-8 at the 25:35 mark.
Notre Dame scored three of the next four goals with Byers fifth of the night via a free-position shot with 9:21 left made it 12-10. Breiner’s second goal of the game cut the lead to 12-11 at 7:59 before van den Berg tied the game at 12-12 at the 6:24 mark.
Byers made it 13-12 with 4:38 left but the Irish could not hold on. May’s fourth goal of the night tied the game with 15 seconds left and van den Berg wrapped up the scoring with her game winner with three seconds left.
Notre Dame goalkeeper Erin Goodman (Jr., Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) finished with 12 saves in the game.
The Irish continue their Spring Break trip on Saturday, March 8 when they meet California in Pasadena, Calif., at the Rose Bowl. That game is the second contest of the East West Challenge. The opening draw is set for 1:00 p.m. PST. Oregon and Temple meet in the first game of the day at 11:00 a.m. PST.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 - FOregon (5-1) 5 9 - 14#13 Notre Dame (3-2) 7 6 - 13
First HalfTime Team Score Goal Assist28:41 ND 1-0 Heather Ferguson Caitlin McKinney24:10 ND 2-0 Caitlin McKinney Jillian Byers23:42 UO 2-1 Ilsa van den Berg Theresa Waldron21:28 ND 3-1 Jillian Byers Caitlin McKinney19:56 UO 3-2 Ilsa van den Berg16:30 ND 4-2 Jillian Byers Jackie Doherty16:04 ND 5-2 Jillian Byers10:24 ND 6-2 Alicia Billings Free-position shot 5:41 UO 6-3 Ilsa van den Berg Jen May 4:56 ND 7-3 Alicia Billings 4:22 UO 7-4 Jen May 1:01 UO 7-5 Erin Chisnell Anna Swicklik
Second HalfTime Team Score Goal Assist28:41 ND 8-5 Caitlin McKinney Kaitlin Keena27:40 UO 8-6 Erin Chisnell Anna Swicklik25:49 UO 8-7 Jana Bradley25:35 UO 8-8 Jen May Ilsa van den Berg19:22 ND 9-8 Caitlin McKinney Free-position shot17:09 UO 9-9 Alex Breiner14:34 ND 10-9 Jillian Byers Gina Scioscia13:32 ND 11-9 Gina Scioscia Jillian Byers10:04 UO 11-10 Jen May 9:21 ND 12-10 Jillian Byers Free-position shot 7:59 UO 12-11 Alex Breiner Free-position shot 6:24 UO 12-12 Ilsa van den Berg 4:38 ND 13-12 Jillian Byers Free-position shot :15 UO 13-13 Jen May Free-position shot :03 UO 13-14 Ilsa van den Berg Free-position shot
Goalkeepers:Notre Dame: (Erin Goodman; 60:00 min; 14 goals, 12 saves)