Ducks Continue Conference Schedule with Aztecs, Trojans
03/23/16 | Women's Lacrosse
EUGENE – The Oregon lacrosse team continues Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play this weekend with games against San Diego State and No. 7/8 USC. The Ducks open a four-game roadtrip with a bout against the Aztecs on Friday at 7 p.m. in San Diego, Calif., before wrapping up the weekend with the Trojans in Los Angeles Sunday at noon in a game that will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
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 6-2 start to the 2016 season after a 14-10 win over Marist last Sunday. Oregon has won three straight games and is coming off a homestand in which it went 4-1.
The Ducks' offensive attack is led by sophomore Cambi Cukar. Cukar has paced the Ducks in points this season with a team-high 32 (5g, NCAA-leading 27a). Holly Johnson is the Ducks' leader in scoring with 18 goals through eight games. Freshman Shannon Williams has also been a major contributor this season with 21 points (13g, 8a) in her first games as a Duck.
Oregon's defense is anchored by seniors Ali Scharkey, Katie Marlatt, Jackie Moccia and Jenna Morris. Scharkey leads the Ducks in ground balls this season with 15, while Moccia has picked up 13 along with 10 caused turnovers. Morris has seen the bulk of the time in goal for the Ducks, clocking 429:47 while recording 47 saves and allowing 9.91 goals per 60 minutes on average.
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.
AZTECS AT A GLANCE
Friday will mark the fifth meeting between the Aztecs and Ducks, with the series being split at two games apiece to this point. San Diego State took the last game in an 8-7 double-overtime thriller in Eugene last season
The Aztecs (2-6) are coming off a 10-9 overtime loss at California last weekend. Senior midfielder Alexa Comfort leads the Aztecs in points with 15 (14g, 1a). Junior Kristen Hickey has had an impressive offensive season as well, racking up 11 goals, three assists and 10 draw controls. Goalie Katie Merritt leads the Aztecs in saves (45) and goals allowed (62) this season in 268:57 in goal.
San Diego State is aggressive on the defensive side of the field, causing 9.75 turnovers per game, good for 23rd in the country and fourth in the MPSF.
Head coach Kylee White is in her fifth season at the helm of the San Diego Statelacrosse program. White is assisted by assistant coach Brandi Padilla and volunteer assistant coach Lyle Tomlinson.
TRACKING THE TROJANS
Saturday will mark the fifth meeting between USC and Oregon, with both teams owning two wins each in the series. USC took the last game in the series in a 13-11 win at Papé Field last season.
USC (7-0) is off to the program's best start in four seasons, and own an 11-game win streak at McAlister Field. Michaela Michael has had an impressive season thus far for the Trojans, racking up a team-high 35 points (28g, 7a) to rank 15th nationally, along with 37 draw controls, good for 5.29 per game which ranks eighth in the country. Goalie Gussie Johns has started all seven games for the Trojans, allowing only 5.17 goals per 60 minutes and saving 27 for a 7-0 record.
The Trojans have been dominant on both sides of the ball, sitting in first nationally in scoring defense and second in scoring offense.
Head coach Lindsey Munday is in her fourth season at USC. Munday is assisted by assistant coaches Devon Wills and Alyssa Leonard.
BALANCED SCORING LEADS DUCKS PAST MARIST
The Oregon women's lacrosse team earned its third straight victory on Saturday afternoon, dropping Marist, 14-10, at Papé Field.
The Ducks (6-2, 1-0 MPSF) relied on a balanced scoring effort to blow past the Red Foxes, using goals from nine different players.
It was a defensive battle early with both teams trading shots and saves, but senior Holly Johnson got the Ducks on the board first at the 23:52 mark off an assist from national assist leader Cambi Cukar. After Marist's Allison Gionta knotted the score back up less than a minute later, Cukar dished off another helper to freshman Madeline Reece.
Marist responded with a quick 3-0 run lasting just over a minute to take a 4-2 advantage, before Carly O'Connell, off an assist from Bella Pyne, and Kathryn Blumhardt, on a free position attempt, tallied two scores to tie the game yet again with 17:26 to go in the first half.
After Kara McHugh converted an unassisted goal to give Marist the 5-4 lead, O'Connell tied the game for the fourth and final time with an unassisted score of her own with 3:44 on the clock. The Ducks and Red Foxes would head into the locker room even at five goals each.
Much like they did in their MPSF-opening win over Fresno State, the Ducks mounted a significant run to open the second period and overwhelm the Red Foxes. Oregon scored seven of the game's next eight goals to seize control of the contest.
Pyne, Cukar and sophomore Mariah Gatti each found the back of the net to spark the Oregon run. Disrupted by a McHugh goal at the 19:50 mark, the Ducks re-ignited the hot streak with four more unanswered goals, led by two consecutive from sophomore Evan Murphy. O'Connell and Johnson were able to cap off the run to give Oregon a 12-6 edge just over halfway through the second frame, its biggest lead of the day.
Marist's Allison Gionta was able to put in two straight over the next eight minutes, before Gatti and Rachel Steinberg answered to rebuild the Duck lead to six with two minutes to go.
The Red Foxes scored twice more before the final buzzer, but the Ducks' lead proved to be too big to overcome.
WILLIAMS NAMED MPSF ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
For the second straight week, freshman Shannon Williams was named MPSF Rookie of the Week, the conference announced last week following a stellar week in home wins over George Mason (Mar. 9) and Fresno State (Mar. 13). Williams accumulated eight points on five goals and three assists, four ground balls, and four caused turnovers through those two games and another home outing vs. High Point (Mar. 7). Williams has been a consistent presence on the Duck offense, adding 13 goals and eight assists and averaging three points per game. The freshman has recorded three or more points in six of the Ducks' seven games this season.
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, 184) 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 27 assists this season, Cukar currently has 63 assists in her career, passing Alex Breiner (61, 2008-11) for fifth. The sophomore recorded the fourth-most assists in a single season in program history as a freshman in 2015.
Jenna Morris is now fifth in the program record book in saves with 102. With her win over Fresno State last weekend, the senior took sole possession of the No. 5 spot on the program 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 32 (5g, 27a). Cukar ranks first in the nation in assists (27) and second in assists per game (3.38). 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 fifth in the country and second in the MPSF in assists per game, passing off seven per contest. Freshman Shannon Williams has helped out in that regard since joining the team this offseason. Williams ranks seventh in the MPSF in assists (8) and tenth in assists per game (1.00) so far this season, while Carly O'Connell ranks eighth among active career leaders in assists (75).
DEFENSE REAPING REWARDS
The Oregon defense has been proactive in causing turnovers. This season, the Ducks average 11.25 cause turnovers per game, good for 10th in the country. Junior Bella Pyne has led the Ducks in the category this season, averaging 1.63 caused turns per contest through eight games. Pyne ranks fifth in the MPSF in caused turnovers per game, while Jackie Moccia ranks eighth (1.43).
SCORE FAST, SCORE OFTEN
Averaging 13.75 goals per game, the Ducks rank seventh in the country and third in the MPSF in scoring offense. Holly Johnson is the Ducks' leader in goals with 18 goals through eight games. The senior's 18 goals rank fourth in the MPSF. With 15 goals each, Carly O'Connell, Bella Pyne and Rachel Steinberg rank seventh in the conference in scoring.
POINTS ON POINTS
The Ducks rank sixth in the nation and third in the MPSF in points per game, averaging 20.75 each contest through eight games this season. Sophomore Cambi Cukar (5g, 27a) and freshman Shannon Williams (13g, 8a) lead the Ducks in points. Cukar ranks second in the MPSF in points, while Williams ranks seventh. Cukar also ranks 27th in the nation in points.
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.
