Friday, April 14
Stanford, Calif.
6:00 PM
University of Oregon
at
Stanford
Photo by: Stan Barnhill
Road Warriors Set for Two Crucial MPSF Games
04/12/17 | Women's Lacrosse
OREGON WILL GET BACK ON THE ROAD THIS WEEKEND TO FACE STANFORD (FRIDAY, 6 PM) AND UC DAVIS (SUNDAY, 12 PM), TWO GAMES THAT WILL PROVE CRUCIAL IN DETERMINING SEEDING FOR THE MPSF TOURNAMENT
EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon women's lacrosse team will get back on the road this week for a pair of crucial conference games, as the Ducks (7-6, 3-2 MPSF) travel to face Stanford (8-4, 3-1 MPSF) on Friday and UC Davis (6-7, 2-2 MPSF) on Sunday before returning home to Eugene for the final week of the regular season. Both games will be important for seeding in the MPSF Tournament for the Ducks, who enter the weekend currently in fourth and sandwiched inbetween the Cardinal and the Mustangs.
"Our goal as a team has always been to be strong in our conference," head coach Katrina Dowd said. "These last three games will determine a lot for us and where we are going into our conference tournament. We're excited to be under the lights against a really good Stanford team, and then that's a must-win game at UC Davis on Sunday to help secure a good seed in the tournament and set us up for success there."
HC KATRINA DOWD BREAKS DOWN OREGON'S SEASON ON DUCK INSIDER (1:25:00 mark)
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Ducks' game at Stanford will be live streamed on pac-12.com/live/stanford-university, while Sunday's game at UC Davis will be available to watch through Facebook Live on the UC Davis Women's Lacrosse account. Links to live stats for both games will be available on the lacrosse schedule on goducks.com, and live updates will be provided during the games on Twitter via @OregonWLAX.
WILLIAMS ENJOYING SPECTACULAR SOPHOMORE SEASON
Sophomore attacker Shannon Williams has been a constant offensive threat for the Ducks this season, and is putting together a dynamic sophomore campaign after leading Oregon in goals as a freshman. Williams is second in the MPSF and is tied for 17th in the nation with 58 points (4.46 per game), and she is second in the conference and tied for 22nd in the nation with 40 goals (3.08 per game), already 10 more than her team-leading total from all of last season. Her 40 goals are only seven shy of setting a new UO single-season record, while her 58 points are 14 away from setting the top mark in UO single-season history. Williams enjoyed a career night in the Ducks' 17-7 win against Vermont on March 17, scoring a career-best six goals and eight points. The Bel Air, Md., native has recorded three goals or more on eight separate occasions in 13 games this season. Williams is also third in the conference in assists with 18 this season.
DUCKS ON THE ATTACK
With Shannon Williams leading the way, the Ducks are proving to be a dangerous team on the offensive end this season with the ability to score quickly and often. Oregon is 42nd in the nation in scoring offense with 12.23 goals per game, and 28th in the NCAA with 18.92 points per game. Williams leads the team with 40 goals and 58 points, while senior Bella Pyne and junior Mariah Gatti are tied for second in goals scored with 32 apiece. Pyne is second on the team in points scored with 43. Cambi Cukar leads both the club and the conference and is tied for 13th in the nation with 29 assists to give her 35 points, tied with Gatti for third-best on the team. In total, 11 Ducks have scored goals this season, with three with 30 or more and six in double-digits.
CUKAR CLOSING IN ON UO ALL-TIME ASSIST RECORD
Only in her third season, junior Cambi Cukar has already moved into second all-time at UO in career assists and is closing in on the all-time record. With a program-record 46 assists in 2016, Cukar ran her career-total to 82 to pass Kristina Barrett (2009-12) for third. Cukar has passed Carly O'Connell for second with 29 assists so far this season, best in the conference and 13th-most in the nation, putting her at 111 for her career and only three dimes short of matching Shannon Propst's program record of 114. Cukar has broken into the top two at an astounding rate, as she is one of only two Ducks in the top 10 to play in fewer than 70 games (48). Cukar also has 134 career points, only one shy of cracking the top-10 list in Oregon history.
SCOUTING STANFORD AND UC DAVIS
The Stanford Cardinal enter Friday's game against the Ducks coming off a 17-4 conference win over Fresno State on Tuesday. The Cardinal snapped a two-game losing streak with that win, but had won six in a row prior to losing to Yale (15-12) and No. 6 Colorado (13-8). Stanford is led by Kelsey Murray's 34 goals and 51 points, and six other players have double-digit goals. Goalie Allie DaCar is allowing an average of 10.46 goals per game. Stanford owns a 12-3 all-time advantage over the Ducks in the all-time series, and has won the last four meetings. Oregon's last win over Stanford was a 13-10 victory on April 29, 2012, in Stanford.
UC Davis goes into the weekend also coming off a win over Fresno State, 16-7 on April 8, and will face California in Berkeley on Friday before hosting the Ducks on Sunday. The Mustangs lost to Stanford, 20-10, in their season-opener. UC Davis is led by Taylor Cuenin, whyo has 38 goals and 49 points this year, and goalie Lauren Ali is allowing 11.78 goals per season. The Ducks have a 12-3 lead in the all-time series against the Mustangs, and have won the last six meetings and 12 of the last 13. Oregon defeated UC Davis, 15-3, last season in Eugene.
OREGON ACTIVE ON DEFENSE
The Ducks have been active on the defensive end thus far this season in terms of attacking the ball-carrier, as Oregon is 30th in the nation and fourth in the conference with 10.23 caused turnovers per game and 133 total in 13 games. The Ducks have forced double-digit turnovers in seven different games this season, including a season-high 17 in a win over San Diego State (Feb. 11). Senior Bella Pyne leads the Ducks with 20 caused turnovers, while junior Jill Zubillaga is second with 17 and sophomore Mandi Trostle is third with 15. Seven different Ducks have forced double-digit turnovers so far this season.
ZUBILLAGA PROVING TO BE AN OFFENSIVE WEAPON
After playing almost exclusively as a defender her first two seasons and even the first five games this season, junior Jill Zubillaga has become a consistent scoring threat for the Ducks on the attack. She scored her first-career goal on March 17 against Vermont, and then erupted two days later at No. 4 Colorado with a four-goal performance. Zubillaga has followed that up with two goals against No. 15 Towson, three against George Mason and one against Virginia, giving her 10 in the last five games and 11 in the last six games while also tallying two assists. Adding the offensive numbers, Zubillaga has become one of the most complete players for the Ducks as she is second on the team in caused turnovers (17) and draw controls (34).
DUCKS FALL AT HOME TO NO. 9 USC, 17-7
USC opened up leads of 2-0 and 7-1 in the first half before the Ducks began to find some momentum, with Shannon Williams and Bella Pyne scoring to make it 7-3 with less than two minutes left in the first. The Trojans scored less than a minute later to push the lead back to five, and a dangerous shooting penalty on the Ducks late in the half resulted in a man-up goal for USC and Trojans took a 9-3 lead into the break. After USC's Michaela Michael, the conference's leading goal-scorer, found the net for USC to open the half, Williams scored back-to-back goals for the Ducks to bring Oregon within five, 10-5. The Trojans would thwart any hopes of an Oregon comeback from there, as Michael led USC to a 6-0 run a commanding 16-5 lead with under eight minutes to play and the Trojans went on to win handily. Williams finished with a team-best three goals and three points. Pyne and Mariah Gatti each added two goals, and Julia Bolte finished with a pair of assists. Michael finished with a game-high six goals and eight points (two assists) to lead the Trojans.
KATZEN NAMED MPSF DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (FEB. 6)
Senior goalie Becca Katzen was rewarded for her strong performance in goal in the Ducks' season-opening 11-8 win over Michigan, earning MPSF Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career. Katzen was stellar at the start of the game against the Wolverines, making five saves in the first 10 minutes including a pair of free-position saves. Katzen finished with a career-high nine saves on 17 shots on goal(.529), and was solid against nine total free-position shots. The native of Cockeysville, Md., earned her first-career win while helping the Ducks to victory.
KATRINA DOWD TAKES OVER OREGON LACROSSE, BRINGS ON BLOCK AND TUMOLO AS ASSISTANTS
Katrina Dowd was introduced as the Ducks' second head coach in program history on June 15, 2016, coming to Eugene as one of the most established players and coaches in all of women's lacrosse. A prolific goal-scorer during her playing days at Northwestern and with the USA National Team, Dowd is expected to bring a fast and exciting new brand of lacrosse to Oregon. Dowd took over at the helm of the Ducks after spending four seasons as the offensive coordinator and draw specialist coach at North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels to national championships titles in both 2013 and 2016.
"My philosophy is to teach the game with passion and belief," Dowd said at her introductory press conference. "At the core that's about player development and team chemistry. We're going to attract the best student-athletes, provide them a one-of-a-kind student-athlete experience and compete at the highest level, with the ultimate goal of winning national championships."
Dowd filled her coaching staff with familiar faces and impressive resumes, bringing on Becca Block and Michelle Tumolo as assistant coaches. Dowd has played with both Block and Tumolo on the USA National Team, and coached them both as an assistant at Syracuse in 2013 when the two were seniors. Block will coordinate the Ducks' defense, while Tumolo will focus on the offensive side.
LACROSSE TO BECOME PAC-12 SPORT IN 2018
The Pac-12 Conference will add women's lacrosse for the 2018 season as the conference's 12th sponsored women's sport and 23rd overall. Arizona State announced it would add women's lacrosse in 2018, giving the Pac-12 the minimum number to qualify (6) for a conference championship and NCAA tournament automatic-qualifying bid.
UP NEXT
Oregon will close out the regular season against Saint Mary's on April 23 at noon on senior day at Pape Field.
"Our goal as a team has always been to be strong in our conference," head coach Katrina Dowd said. "These last three games will determine a lot for us and where we are going into our conference tournament. We're excited to be under the lights against a really good Stanford team, and then that's a must-win game at UC Davis on Sunday to help secure a good seed in the tournament and set us up for success there."
HC KATRINA DOWD BREAKS DOWN OREGON'S SEASON ON DUCK INSIDER (1:25:00 mark)
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Ducks' game at Stanford will be live streamed on pac-12.com/live/stanford-university, while Sunday's game at UC Davis will be available to watch through Facebook Live on the UC Davis Women's Lacrosse account. Links to live stats for both games will be available on the lacrosse schedule on goducks.com, and live updates will be provided during the games on Twitter via @OregonWLAX.
WILLIAMS ENJOYING SPECTACULAR SOPHOMORE SEASON
Sophomore attacker Shannon Williams has been a constant offensive threat for the Ducks this season, and is putting together a dynamic sophomore campaign after leading Oregon in goals as a freshman. Williams is second in the MPSF and is tied for 17th in the nation with 58 points (4.46 per game), and she is second in the conference and tied for 22nd in the nation with 40 goals (3.08 per game), already 10 more than her team-leading total from all of last season. Her 40 goals are only seven shy of setting a new UO single-season record, while her 58 points are 14 away from setting the top mark in UO single-season history. Williams enjoyed a career night in the Ducks' 17-7 win against Vermont on March 17, scoring a career-best six goals and eight points. The Bel Air, Md., native has recorded three goals or more on eight separate occasions in 13 games this season. Williams is also third in the conference in assists with 18 this season.
DUCKS ON THE ATTACK
With Shannon Williams leading the way, the Ducks are proving to be a dangerous team on the offensive end this season with the ability to score quickly and often. Oregon is 42nd in the nation in scoring offense with 12.23 goals per game, and 28th in the NCAA with 18.92 points per game. Williams leads the team with 40 goals and 58 points, while senior Bella Pyne and junior Mariah Gatti are tied for second in goals scored with 32 apiece. Pyne is second on the team in points scored with 43. Cambi Cukar leads both the club and the conference and is tied for 13th in the nation with 29 assists to give her 35 points, tied with Gatti for third-best on the team. In total, 11 Ducks have scored goals this season, with three with 30 or more and six in double-digits.
CUKAR CLOSING IN ON UO ALL-TIME ASSIST RECORD
Only in her third season, junior Cambi Cukar has already moved into second all-time at UO in career assists and is closing in on the all-time record. With a program-record 46 assists in 2016, Cukar ran her career-total to 82 to pass Kristina Barrett (2009-12) for third. Cukar has passed Carly O'Connell for second with 29 assists so far this season, best in the conference and 13th-most in the nation, putting her at 111 for her career and only three dimes short of matching Shannon Propst's program record of 114. Cukar has broken into the top two at an astounding rate, as she is one of only two Ducks in the top 10 to play in fewer than 70 games (48). Cukar also has 134 career points, only one shy of cracking the top-10 list in Oregon history.
SCOUTING STANFORD AND UC DAVIS
The Stanford Cardinal enter Friday's game against the Ducks coming off a 17-4 conference win over Fresno State on Tuesday. The Cardinal snapped a two-game losing streak with that win, but had won six in a row prior to losing to Yale (15-12) and No. 6 Colorado (13-8). Stanford is led by Kelsey Murray's 34 goals and 51 points, and six other players have double-digit goals. Goalie Allie DaCar is allowing an average of 10.46 goals per game. Stanford owns a 12-3 all-time advantage over the Ducks in the all-time series, and has won the last four meetings. Oregon's last win over Stanford was a 13-10 victory on April 29, 2012, in Stanford.
UC Davis goes into the weekend also coming off a win over Fresno State, 16-7 on April 8, and will face California in Berkeley on Friday before hosting the Ducks on Sunday. The Mustangs lost to Stanford, 20-10, in their season-opener. UC Davis is led by Taylor Cuenin, whyo has 38 goals and 49 points this year, and goalie Lauren Ali is allowing 11.78 goals per season. The Ducks have a 12-3 lead in the all-time series against the Mustangs, and have won the last six meetings and 12 of the last 13. Oregon defeated UC Davis, 15-3, last season in Eugene.
OREGON ACTIVE ON DEFENSE
The Ducks have been active on the defensive end thus far this season in terms of attacking the ball-carrier, as Oregon is 30th in the nation and fourth in the conference with 10.23 caused turnovers per game and 133 total in 13 games. The Ducks have forced double-digit turnovers in seven different games this season, including a season-high 17 in a win over San Diego State (Feb. 11). Senior Bella Pyne leads the Ducks with 20 caused turnovers, while junior Jill Zubillaga is second with 17 and sophomore Mandi Trostle is third with 15. Seven different Ducks have forced double-digit turnovers so far this season.
ZUBILLAGA PROVING TO BE AN OFFENSIVE WEAPON
After playing almost exclusively as a defender her first two seasons and even the first five games this season, junior Jill Zubillaga has become a consistent scoring threat for the Ducks on the attack. She scored her first-career goal on March 17 against Vermont, and then erupted two days later at No. 4 Colorado with a four-goal performance. Zubillaga has followed that up with two goals against No. 15 Towson, three against George Mason and one against Virginia, giving her 10 in the last five games and 11 in the last six games while also tallying two assists. Adding the offensive numbers, Zubillaga has become one of the most complete players for the Ducks as she is second on the team in caused turnovers (17) and draw controls (34).
DUCKS FALL AT HOME TO NO. 9 USC, 17-7
USC opened up leads of 2-0 and 7-1 in the first half before the Ducks began to find some momentum, with Shannon Williams and Bella Pyne scoring to make it 7-3 with less than two minutes left in the first. The Trojans scored less than a minute later to push the lead back to five, and a dangerous shooting penalty on the Ducks late in the half resulted in a man-up goal for USC and Trojans took a 9-3 lead into the break. After USC's Michaela Michael, the conference's leading goal-scorer, found the net for USC to open the half, Williams scored back-to-back goals for the Ducks to bring Oregon within five, 10-5. The Trojans would thwart any hopes of an Oregon comeback from there, as Michael led USC to a 6-0 run a commanding 16-5 lead with under eight minutes to play and the Trojans went on to win handily. Williams finished with a team-best three goals and three points. Pyne and Mariah Gatti each added two goals, and Julia Bolte finished with a pair of assists. Michael finished with a game-high six goals and eight points (two assists) to lead the Trojans.
KATZEN NAMED MPSF DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (FEB. 6)
Senior goalie Becca Katzen was rewarded for her strong performance in goal in the Ducks' season-opening 11-8 win over Michigan, earning MPSF Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career. Katzen was stellar at the start of the game against the Wolverines, making five saves in the first 10 minutes including a pair of free-position saves. Katzen finished with a career-high nine saves on 17 shots on goal(.529), and was solid against nine total free-position shots. The native of Cockeysville, Md., earned her first-career win while helping the Ducks to victory.
KATRINA DOWD TAKES OVER OREGON LACROSSE, BRINGS ON BLOCK AND TUMOLO AS ASSISTANTS
Katrina Dowd was introduced as the Ducks' second head coach in program history on June 15, 2016, coming to Eugene as one of the most established players and coaches in all of women's lacrosse. A prolific goal-scorer during her playing days at Northwestern and with the USA National Team, Dowd is expected to bring a fast and exciting new brand of lacrosse to Oregon. Dowd took over at the helm of the Ducks after spending four seasons as the offensive coordinator and draw specialist coach at North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels to national championships titles in both 2013 and 2016.
"My philosophy is to teach the game with passion and belief," Dowd said at her introductory press conference. "At the core that's about player development and team chemistry. We're going to attract the best student-athletes, provide them a one-of-a-kind student-athlete experience and compete at the highest level, with the ultimate goal of winning national championships."
Dowd filled her coaching staff with familiar faces and impressive resumes, bringing on Becca Block and Michelle Tumolo as assistant coaches. Dowd has played with both Block and Tumolo on the USA National Team, and coached them both as an assistant at Syracuse in 2013 when the two were seniors. Block will coordinate the Ducks' defense, while Tumolo will focus on the offensive side.
LACROSSE TO BECOME PAC-12 SPORT IN 2018
The Pac-12 Conference will add women's lacrosse for the 2018 season as the conference's 12th sponsored women's sport and 23rd overall. Arizona State announced it would add women's lacrosse in 2018, giving the Pac-12 the minimum number to qualify (6) for a conference championship and NCAA tournament automatic-qualifying bid.
UP NEXT
Oregon will close out the regular season against Saint Mary's on April 23 at noon on senior day at Pape Field.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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DEF
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