The women’s lacrosse team is still winless in MPSF conference play as the Ducks fell to the California Golden Bears 14-10 today at Papé Field.

Both teams opened up with sloppy play and were unstable in transition. The Ducks missed chances to take advantage of Cal’s turnovers, which ultimately left them fighting for possession.

Cal was the first to score with a goal from Ameila Burke. However, the Ducks were able to answer back quickly with a goal from Sami Kiser, assisted by Carly O’Connell. Oregon was able to keep the momentum going with a goal from Nikki Puszcz, assisted by Shannon Propst.

With that assist, Propst became No. 5 on Oregon’s all-time list for assists, tied with Ilsa van den Berg. Propst also contributed to the Ducks by tacking on Oregon’s third goal of the half. The junior from Bel Air, Maryland also had a career high for with four assists in today’s match.

With 10 minutes to go in the first half, the Golden Bears were able to control possession and pick up three goals. Cal doubled Oregon in draw control, giving them a 5-3 lead at the half.

Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the Ducks were still not able to gain momentum. Cal scored two goals in the first five minutes of the second half.

The increasing deficit woke up the Ducks, who then rallied to score three goals bringing the score to 8-6 with about 20 minutes left in the game.

Turning Point: After what looked like a missed penalty call by the referee, Assistant Coach Robert Bray Jr. was ejected from the game, causing the Ducks to have to play a man down for two minutes.

The ejection seemed to rattle Oregon and give Cal the momentum to go on an offensive frenzy. The Golden Bears were able to go on a 6-0 scoring run.

Although the game seemed to slip away from Oregon, freshman O’Connell gave a gutsy effort by scoring three goals and contributing with one assist in the last five minutes. It wasn’t enough to come back from the huge deficit, but the Ducks showed heart in the last five minutes.

O’Connell has came up big for the Ducks this season. Today marked a career high four goals for O’Connell.

On the Horizon: The Ducks have now lost six of their last seven games and are still winless in conference play. The team will travel California to face Fresno State on Wednesday at 1 p.m.