Ducks Return Home to Host No. 9 USC on Friday

Friday, April 7

Eugene, Ore.

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

USC

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

04/05/17 | Women's Lacrosse

LAX Notes - USC Tickets

AFTER PLAYING EIGHT STRAIGHT GAMES ON THE ROAD, OREGON WOMEN'S LACROSSE WILL PLAY ITS FIRST HOME GAME SINCE FEBRUARY 19 THIS FRIDAY AT 1 PM AGAINST NO. 9 USC

By: Nate Krueger

EUGENE, Ore. – After playing eight straight games on the road, the Oregon women's lacrosse team returns home this week to face No. 9 USC on Friday at 1 p.m. at Pape Field. The Ducks (7-5, 3-1 MPSF) enter a stretch of four conference games in a row to finish out the regular season, starting at home with the Trojans (9-3, 3-0 MPSF). The Ducks will play their first game at Pape Field since an 18-9 win over California on February 19 after going 4-4 during the eight-game road swing.

HOW TO FOLLOW
The Ducks' game against USC will be streamed live on goducks.com/live, and a link to live stats will be available on the lacrosse schedule on goducks.com or at oregon.statbroadcast.com. Live updates will be provided during the game on Twitter via @OregonWLAX.

WILLIAMS LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
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 leads the MPSF and is tied for 11th in the nation with 55 points (4.58 per game), and she is second in the conference and tied for 17th in the nation with 37 goals (3.08 per game), already seven more than her team-leading total from all of last season. 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 seven separate occasions in 12 games this season. Williams is also second in the conference in assists (18) behind teammate Cambi Cukar (28).

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 40th in the nation in scoring offense with 12.67 goals per game, and 22nd in the nation with 19.58 points per game. Williams leads the team with 37 goals and 55 points, while senior Bella Pyne and junior Mariah Gatti are tied for second in goals scored with 30 apiece. Pyne is second on the team in points scored with 41. Cambi Cukar leads both the club and the conference and is seventh in the nation with 28 assists to give her 34 points, 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.

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 10.33 caused turnovers per game and 124 total in 12 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 19 caused turnovers, while junior Jill Zubillaga is second with 16 and sophomore Mandi Trostle is third with 15. Five different Ducks have forced double-digit turnovers so far this season. Oregon is tied for 46th in the country in scoring defense so far this year, allowing 11.00 goals per game.

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 28 assists so far this season, best in the conference and seventh-most in the nation, putting her at 110 for her career and only four 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 (47). Cukar also has 133 career points, only two shy of cracking the top 10 list in Oregon history.

UP NEXT
The Ducks will get back on the road for a pair of conference games at Stanford (April 14) and UC Davis (April 16) before returning home to wrap the regular season against Saint Mary's on senior day (April 23, noon).

SCOUTING NO. 9 USC
The ninth-ranked Trojans (9-3, 3-0 MPSF) enter Friday's game against the Ducks on a three-game winning streak and as one of the most balanced team in the country. The Trojans are the top team in the country in terms of scoring defense, allowing only 6.83 goals per game behind junior goalie Gussie Johns, who is second in the nation at 7.19 goals allowed per game. Offensively, USC is tied for fifth in the nation with 15.25 goals per game. The Trojans are led offensively by Michaela Michael, who leads the MPSF and is tied for 10th in the country with 40 goals this season. She is also tied for 15th in the nation with 52 points. In total, the Trojans have 13 players with goals this season and seven in double-digits. USC leads the all-time series, 3-2, after beating the Ducks 16-4 last season in Los Angeles. Oregon's last win against the Trojans was a 7-6 victory on May 1, 2014, in Denver, Colo.

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. 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 four games and 11 in the last fivegames while also tallying an assist. 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 (16) and draw controls (31).

DUCKS SPLIT WITH GEORGE MASON AND VIRGINIA TO WRAP 8-GAME ROAD TRIP
March 27 - Oregon 17, George Mason 12
The Ducks used an early 5-0 run to erase a 2-0 deficit, and then used a 6-1 stretch in the second half to ice the game and record their seventh victory of the year. Four different Ducks recorded a hat trick or better in the win. Bella Pyne finished with five goals and an assist, while Shannon Williams matched her six-point effort with four goals, giving her an MSPF-best 35 this season, and two helpers. Mariah Gatti and Jill Zubillaga rounded out the flurry of hat tricks for Oregon with three goals apiece, and each grabbed four draw controls as well. Freshman Julia Bolte finished with two goals and two assists in another solid outing for the freshman, and Cambi Cukar was tremendous as usual at setting up her teammates with a game-high five assists to give her 110 for her career and bring her within four of tying the UO all-time record.

March 29 - #15 Virginia 15, Oregon 6
After the Ducks jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind two early goals from Shannon Williams, Virginia responded with a 5-1 run to close the half and took a 5-4 lead into the break. It was Virginia that got off to a quick start in the second half, scoring two goals in the opening minute to extend its lead to 7-4. The Cavaliers added another goal at the 24:06 mark to push their scoring run to 6-0 and take a four-goal lead. Junior Jill Zubillaga ended Virginia's run with 19:42 to play, but the Cavaliers brought their lead back to four five minutes later with a goal. Mariah Gatti scored her second goal of the game with 11:43 remaining to get Oregon back within three, but Virginia answered once again with two quick goals to make it 11-6. The Cavaliers would finish the game on a 6-0 run to pull away for the win. Williams finished with a team-high four points, two goals and two assists, while Gatti also scored twice and Bella Pyne and Zubillaga each scored once. Becca Katzen matched her career-high with 12 saves.

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.