Ducks Open Conference Play Against Fresno State
03/11/16 | Women's Lacrosse
EUGENE – The Oregon lacrosse team will open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play this Sunday when it hosts Fresno State at Papé Field at 11 a.m.
The game marks “Honor Our Heroes Day”. All past and present firefighters, military servicemen and servicewomen receive free admission with proof of ID.
ABOUT THE DUCKS
In her 12th year at the helm of the Oregon lacrosse program, head coach Jen Beck's Ducks are off to a 4-2 start to the 2016 season after a 15-9 win over George Mason on Wednesday.
The Ducks' offensive attack is led by sophomore Cambi Cukar. Cukar has paced the Ducks in points this season with a team-high 24 (4g, 20a). Holly Johnson is the Ducks' leader in goals with 14 goals through six games. Freshman Shannon Williams has also been a major contributor this season with 18 points (11g, 7a) in her first games as a Duck.
Oregon's defense is anchored by seniors Ali Scharkey, Katie Marlatt, Jackie Moccia and Jenna Morris. Moccia led the Ducks in groundballs last season with 37, while Scharkey wasn't far behind with 32. Both finished with 15 caused turnovers. Morris recorded 12 appearances in goal for the Ducks in 2015, recording 48 saves and the second-lowest single-season goals against average in program history (8.84).
This offseason saw the arrival of seven freshmen to the Oregon lacrosse program, while Beck also announced the addition of former player Colleen Taggart to the staff as an assistant coach after the departure of seven-year assistant Jen Derby last fall.
BREAKING DOWN THE BULLDOGS
Sunday will be the ninth meeting between the Ducks and Bulldogs. Oregon has dominated the series so far, posting an 8-0 mark in the series so far. Oregon took last year's meeting, 14-7, in Fresno. The Bulldogs are 0-4 in Eugene.
Fresno State (3-3) is coming off a 7-4 win over Furman in Fresno earlier this week. Nicole Ortlieb leads the Bulldogs in points (16) and goals (15). Goalie Megann Weissenfels has clocked a team-high 198:48 in goal so far this season, allowing 39 goals (11.77 GAAvg) and saving 21 (.350).
The Bulldogs are second in the MPSF and eighth in the nation in ground balls per game, averaging 20.50 per contest.
Head coach Jessica Giglio is in her fifth season at the helm of the Fresno State lacrosse program. Giglio is assisted by fourth-year assistant coach Sarah Lautenbach and second-year assistant coach Nicole Price, as well as volunteer assistant Emily Gibson and student assistant Marcy Levatino.
STRONG SECOND HALF LIFTS OREGON PAST GEORGE MASON
The Oregon women's lacrosse team used a second-half burst to knock off George Mason, 15-9, on Wednesday evening at Papé Field.
The Ducks (4-2) and Patriots traded goals for much of the first half. George Mason scored three of the first four goals of the game to take an early 3-1 lead just under 10 minutes into the contest. It was Natalie Modly that got the Ducks on the board with an unassisted goal at the 24:21 mark.
From that point, the Ducks added a score from Carly O'Connell off an assist from freshman Shannon Williams and a free position goal from Rachel Steinberg to knot the game at three. Mason would score again with a Brooke Lorber goal off the feed from Jacquelyn Spalding, but Nikita Bagg rifled in her first-career goal off a free-position shot to tie the game yet again with 10:34 remaining in the period.
After the Patriots found the back of the net again, this time on an unassisted goal from Alexa McGovern, the Ducks used tallies from Shannon Williams and Holly Johnson to take their first lead of the game with just over a minute-and-a-half to play.
George Mason's Melissa Lobaccaro was able to score off a free position shot with less than three seconds to go in the half to tie the game at six heading into the locker room.
Oregon took control of the game in the opening minutes of the second half, rattling off four-straight goals in the first 10-plus minutes of the frame to jump out to a 10-6 lead.
Williams sparked the Duck run with a free position goal that would put Oregon up for good. Less than three minutes later, O'Connell spun around her defender and attacked the goal from the right side to net her second goal of the night. Johnson also found back of the net for the second time of the evening before Mariah Gatti finished off an assist from Steinberg to cap the run.
After George Mason's Hannah Warpinski broke the Ducks' surge with 17:46 to play, Bella Pyne and Natalie Modly quelled any hopes of a Patriot run with unassisted goals of their own.
DUCKS FALL TO HIGH POINT, 12-7
The Oregon women's lacrosse team dropped a tough contest to High Point, 12-7, on Monday night at Papé Field.
How It Happened: The Ducks (3-2) struck first with a Carly O'Connell goal off the assist from Natalie Modly at the 26:24 mark; however, not even a minute later, the Panthers tied it at one with a score by Allie Foard.
High Point scored again on a free position shot to take their first lead of the game before sophomore Mariah Gatti answered with a free position goal of her own to even the score again.
The Panthers scored four of the next five goals of the game over the next 12 minutes to take control of the game and put the Ducks in a 6-3 hole. Holly Johnson scored the lone Duck goal over that stretch off a Cambi Cukar assist.
The Ducks were able to claw back before the half, thanks to goals from Cukar, Rachel Steinberg and Shannon Williams. Oregon led a 3-1 run over the final four-and-a-half minutes of the opening period to trail 7-6 at the break.
High Point outscored the Ducks, 5-1, in the second half to take the 12-7 lead. Oregon's only goal of the second half came on a man-up goal from Bella Pyne, who scored off Cukar's third assist of the night.
WILLIAMS NAMED MPSF ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Freshman Shannon Williams was named MPSF Rookie of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. Williams (Bel Air, MD)scored three points on two goals and one assist, while picking up one ground ball and causing a career-high two turnovers in the Ducks' 16-6 home-opening win over LIU Brooklyn (Mar. 5). This is Williams' first career MPSF honor.
WATCHING THE RECORD BOOK
Senior Carly O'Connell is climbing up the Oregon record book in a multitude of categories. O' Connell tops the program list in draw controls per game (3.12), while sitting in the top five in points per game (2nd, 2.91), assists (3rd, 75), assists per game (2nd, 1.29), draw controls (2nd, 181) and caused turnovers per game (3rd, 1.00) . With only one season under her belt, Cambi Cukar has already broken into the top 10 in career assists. With 20 assists this season, Cukar currently has 56 assists in her career, passing Ilsa van den Berg for seventh. The sophomore recorded the fourth-most assists in a single season in program history as a freshman in 2015.
Jenna Morris is now sixth in the program record book in saves with 86. With her win over George Mason earlier this week, the senior climbed into the top five in wins. Her next victory will give her sole possession of that No. 5 spot on the list.
CAMBI CUKAR - THE ART OF THE ASSIST
Cambi Cukar has had a nice start to her sophomore season, leading the Ducks in points with 24 (4g, 20a). Cukar ranks first in the nation in assists (20) and second in assists per game (3.33). The sophomore tied her career high in assists at Detroit, dishing off six.
SPREADING THE LOVE
Cukar isn't the only Duck that likes to share the lacrosse ball. In fact, as a team, the Ducks rank eighth in the country and first in the MPSF in assists per game, passing off 6.83 per contest. Freshman Shannon Williams has helped out in that regard since joining the team this offseason. Williams ranks fifth in the MPSF in assists (7) and eighth in assists per game (1.17) so far this season, while Carly O'Connell ranks eighth among active career leaders in assists (75).
FEARLESS FRESHMAN
Freshman attacker Shannon Williams has been a consistent presence on the Oregon offense so far this season, and showed that again on Wednesday against George Mason. Williams tied her career high in points with four (2g, 2a) Williams' two assists also tied a career high. The freshman is the Ducks' second-leading point scorer with 18 on the season (11g, 7a).
SCORE FAST, SCORE OFTEN
Averaging 13.50 goals per game, the Ducks rank 17th in the country and third in the MPSF in scoring offense. Junior Bella Pyne and senior Holly Johnson lead the Ducks in goals this season with 12 each. Holly Johnson is the Ducks' leader in goals with 14 goals through six games. The senior's 14 goals rank third in the MPSF. With 13 goals each, Bella Pyne and Rachel Steinberg rank sixth in the conference in scoring.
POINTS ON POINTS
The Ducks rank 12th in the nation and third in the MPSF in points per game, averaging 20.33 each contest through six games this season. Sophomore Cambi Cukar (4g, 20a) and freshman Shannon Williams (11g, 7a) lead the Ducks in points. Oregon has five players in the top 10 in the conference in points. Cukar ranks first in the MPSF in points, while Williams ranks 5th. Holly Johnson, Bella Pyne and Rachel Steinberg's 15 points rank 10th. Cukar also ranks 22nd in the nation in points per game.
LACROSSE TO BECOME PAC-12 SPORT IN 2018
The Pac-12 Conference will add women's lacrosse for the 2017-18 season as the conference's 12th sponsored women's sport and 23rd overall. Arizona State annoounced it would add women's lacrosse in 2018, giving the Pac-12 six teams, the minimum number to qualify for a conference championship and NCAA tournament automatic-qualifying bid.
BECK ADDS TAGGART TO STAFF
Oregon lacrosse head coach Jen Beck announced the addition of Colleen Taggart to the team's coaching staff as an assistant coach in October.
Taggart was a member of the Oregon lacrosse team from 2009-2012 and lettered all four years with 63 starts in 64 appearances as a defender for the Ducks. She also served as an undergraduate assistant coach during the Ducks' 2013 campaign. The Bay Shore, N.Y., native was a rock for the Oregon defense, earning first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selections her sophomore and senior seasons. Taggart was also named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team in 2012 after helping lead the Ducks to their first MPSF Tournament title. A leader on and off the field, she was voted team captain three times by her teammates.
Three seasons removed from her final season at Oregon, Taggart still sits at 10th in the program record books for ground balls per game, having averaged 1.3 ground balls a game throughout the course of her career. Taggart graduated from Oregon in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and sociology.
DUCKS PICKED SIXTH IN MPSF
The Oregon women's lacrosse team was picked to finish sixth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation preseason coaches' poll, the league announced earlier this month.
Defending MPSF champion Stanford was selected to finish first, garnering 79 points and seven first-place votes in the poll. Runner-up USC was picked second with 75 points and three first-place votes, while Denver came in third with 63 points.Colorado (57) and San Diego State (46), who tied for fourth in the conference last season, came in fourth and fifth in the poll, respectively. Oregon was slotted just one point behind the fifth-place Aztecs with 45 points. California (31), UC Davis (26), Fresno State (19), and St. Mary's (9) rounded out the 2016 coaches' poll.
BECK SIGNS EIGHT TO NLI'S
Oregon women's lacrosse head coach Jen Beck announced the signing of eight players to National Letters of Intent last November. Julia Bolte, Emma Bowman, Madeleine Clark, Katie Donhauser, Gracyn Elliott, Caroline Jaworski, Jennifer Lanuza and Lindsey White will join the Ducks for the 2017 season.
