Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     Caitlin McKinney had three goals and two assists in the 14-13 loss to Oregon on Thursday night.

 
Irish Lose Heartbreaking 14-13 Decision To Oregon

Notre Dame surrenders two goals in the final 15 seconds for one-goal loss.

March 7, 2008

Final Stats

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   -   F
Oregon (5-1)                    5       9   -  14
#13 Notre Dame (3-2)            7       6   -  13

First Half
Time    Team   Score   Goal                   Assist
28:41    ND     1-0    Heather Ferguson       Caitlin McKinney
24:10    ND     2-0    Caitlin McKinney       Jillian Byers
23:42    UO     2-1    Ilsa van den Berg      Theresa Waldron
21:28    ND     3-1    Jillian Byers          Caitlin McKinney
19:56    UO     3-2    Ilsa van den Berg
16:30    ND     4-2    Jillian Byers          Jackie Doherty
16:04    ND     5-2    Jillian Byers
10:24    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 Half
Time    Team   Score   Goal                   Assist
28:41    ND     8-5    Caitlin McKinney       Kaitlin Keena
27:40    UO     8-6    Erin Chisnell          Anna Swicklik
25:49    UO     8-7    Jana Bradley
25:35    UO     8-8    Jen May                Ilsa van den Berg
19:22    ND     9-8    Caitlin McKinney       Free-position shot
17:09    UO     9-9    Alex Breiner
14:34    ND    10-9    Jillian Byers          Gina Scioscia
13:32    ND    11-9    Gina Scioscia          Jillian Byers
10:04    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)