DENVER – University of Denver women's lacrosse midfielder Karen Morton (Adelaide, Australia) had a hat trick in becoming DU's all-time leading scorer, but the Pioneers fell to Oregon 11-9 during senior day at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Morton's third goal of the game gave her 232 career points, eclipsing Steph Greenlees' record of 231, set from 2003-2006.

Denver (8-5, 2-1 MPSF) jumped on the board quickly, as Morton buried a pass from fellow senior Megan Carver (Baltimore, Md.) just 1:45 into the contest. However, Oregon's Alex Breiner, who led the Ducks (9-3, 3-1 MPSF) with four goals, scored the first two of five-straight Oregon goals during a six-minute stretch.

DU tied the game heading into the break by outscoring the Ducks 5-1 in the final 7:27 of the first half. Oregon's Catherine Davidson scored all three of her goals during a 5-1 run by the Ducks to start the second half.

Junior midfielder Ali Flury (Arnold, Md.) scored two of her team-high four goals in the final 1:30 of the game, but the Pioneers comeback came up short. Oregon goalkeeper Anna Poponyak made 11 saves in the game to give the Ducks their first-ever victory in seven games against the Pioneers, dating back to 2005.

Denver's loss also marked the team's first regular season conference loss since April 15, 2006, snapping a 12-game regular season streak.

Carver ended her final home game with two goals and an assist, while senior attacker Steph Coyne (Baltimore, Md.) added a goal and an assist, putting her just nine points behind Morton in career points.

In addition to Morton's career points record, the midfielder also claimed Denver's all-time mark with 99 caused turnovers, six of which came this afternoon, and increased her record for career draw controls to 169. Morton's 173 career goals trail only Greenlees's record of 187, and Morton is fourth all-time at DU with 59 assists.

Prior to the game, Denver honored its eight seniors: Carver, Coyne, midfielder McKensie Kahnweiler (Winnetka, Ill.), defender Jenn Moore (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Morton and defender Katelynn Taggart (Bay Shore, N.Y.).

The Pioneers conclude their MPSF schedule on the road next week at Stanford on April 10, UC Davis on April 12 and Fresno State on April 13.

2009-04-04