Wolverines Edged by Ducks in 2017 Season Opener

Saturday, February 4

Eugene, Ore.

Noon PT

Michigan

0-1

Oregon

1-0

Michigan

Oregon

Madeline Dion

2/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score PDF Boxscore

By: Whitney Vojtkofsky

» Anna Schueler finished with a game-high four points on one goal and three assists and also pulled down a game-high six draw controls to help U-M win the draw battle, 16-5.
» Kim Coughlan, Tess Korten and Lauren Oberlander each scored a pair of goals, while Molly Garrett tallied her first career goal and added four draw controls.
» Oregon led wire to wire and was leading 7-4 at halftime. Michigan pulled within one goal, 7-6, with 22:34 remaining but could not complete the comeback.
» U-M goalie Alli Kothari came off the bench in the first half and made seven saves in 43 minutes of action.

Site: Eugene, Ore. (Papé Field)
Score: Oregon 11, Michigan 8
Records: U-M (0-1), UO (1-0)
Attendance: 180
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 11 -- vs. James Madison (Oosterbaan Field House), 1 p.m.

EUGENE, Ore. -- The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team dropped an 11-8 decision in its 2017 season opener at Oregon on Saturday (Feb. 4) at Papé Field. The Ducks led wire to wire, and the Wolverines came within one goal with 22 minutes left but could not complete the comeback.

Seniors Kim Coughlan, Tess Korten and Lauren Oberlander each scored a pair of goal for the Maize and Blue, while senior Anna Schueler and freshman Molly Garrett each added one. Schueler also dished out three assists to finish with a game-high four points and pulled down a game-high six draw controls. Garrett recorded four draw controls in her Michigan debut.

Oregon opened the game on a 3-0 run, taking an early three-goal lead by the 19:15 mark. Schueler helped halt the run, netting the first goal of the 2017 season, as she drove left and beat her defender, scoring at 16:28.

The Ducks answered with back-to-back goals in just 26 seconds and added a third nearly six minutes later to take a 6-1 lead with 7:34 remaining in the opening half. Sophomore/freshman goalie Alli Kothari replaced sophomore Mira Shane in goal following Oregon's fifth goal. The Wolverines regrouped and registered a pair of goals to cut their deficit in half, 6-3, with 4:41 on the clock. Schueler fed Garrett from the top of the 12 as Garret cut through the eight-meter arc for the quick catch-and-score. Coughlan followed with a free-position goal less than two minutes later.

After another Oregon goal made it 7-3, senior Lauren Oberlander responded with her first goal of the season on a free-position attempt to make it 7-4 just before the half.

Michigan was dominant on the draw in the first half, holding a 10-1 advantage at the break. Schueler and Garret had three each in the first 30 minutes.

The Wolverines came out firing in the second half, and Oberlander added another goal on an assist from Schueler just 1:38 into the half. Kothari made a big point-blank save as the shot clock was winding down on Oregon, and that led to a Coughlan goal on the other end, making it a 3-0 Michigan run that spanned back to the first half, and U-M trailed by one, 7-6, at 22:34.

Oregon midfielder Julia Taylor helped push the Ducks' lead back to three, 9-6, with two quick goals separated by 47 seconds, forcing Michigan to call a timeout with 18 minutes remaining. Just 52 seconds after the timeout, Korten netted her first goal of the season on a low free-position shot to make it a two-point game. Over the next 10 minutes, Oregon scored the only two goals to push its lead back to four goals, 11-7.

With a little more than two minutes to go, Michigan gained possession on its defensive end and cleared the ball quickly. Schueler made a long pass and found Korten on the edge of the crease for her second goal of the day with 1:59 on the clock, but that proved to the last goal of the afternoon.

Michigan finished the game with a 16-5 advantage on the draw, while Oregon won the ground-ball battle, 17-9.

Kothari made seven saves in goal in 43 minutes of action for the Wolverines, making a return to the field for the first time since suffering a season-ending injury early in 2016. Freshmen Lilly Grass and Chandler Kirby both made their Michigan debuts along with Garrett.

The Wolverines will now return to Ann Arbor to host James Madison in the 2017 home opener on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 1 p.m. inside Oosterbaan Field House. It will mark the first time in program history the two teams have gone head to head.

Tweet of the Game