Ducks Look To Settle The Score Against Canisius Monday

EUGENE, Ore. - After a week off, the Oregon women's lacrosse team returns to the field Monday afternnon taking on Canisius in a one-of-a-kind game played on the Oregon rec fields.

This will be only the second time these two programs have faced one another and the first ever lacrosse game on the UO rec fields. The Ducks come into the game 1-1 on the year after splitting their season opening weekend against UC Davis and Syracuse.

DUCKS ESTABLISH FOUNDATION DURING OPENING WEEKEND
If Oregon's first two games of the year showed anything, it's that the Ducks will be formidable opponents anyone they come up against this season. UO opened the year with a dominant 15-5 win over UC Davis in which Jill Zubillaga and Shannon Williams each netted four goals with captain Natalie Modly and transfer Lexy Biller adding two more a piece. After a quick turnaround, the Ducks faced off against arguably their toughest opponent this season in No. 7 Syracuse on a snowy Sunday afternoon in West Linn, Ore. Oregon stood toe-to-toe with the Orange, but could not overcome an early lead by Syracuse falling to the ACC powerhouse 17-11. Mariah Gatti paced the UO offense scoring four goals on her old high school field while Williams closed out the weekend adding three more goals against SU.

BILLER HAS GOT IT UNDER CONTROL
Sophomore transfer Lexy Biller has made an immediate impact for the Ducks in the first two games of the season. The former Louisville player has become a dominant presence in the circle for UO, racking up 18 draw controls so far this year. Biller opened the season recording eight draw controls against UC Davis before tying the UO single-game record with 10 draw controls against Syracuse. Although very early in the season, she is currently on pace to record 144 draw controls this year, which would nearly double the UO single-season record of 77 set by Carly O'Connell in 2014.

WILLIAMS NAMED PAC-12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
One of UO's most productive offensive threats, Shannon Williams finished UO's opening weekend with a .818 shots on goal percentage scoring on seven of her nine shots on goal. The Bel Air, Md., native, netted four goals in UO's season opener against UC Davis, following up that performance with three more goals against then-No. 7 Syracuse, converting both of her free position shot attempts. Her 3.5 goals per game average currently ranks second in the Pac-12.

WATCHING THE RECORD BOOK
With two games already played in the 2018 season, two Ducks remain on the cusp of breaking onto the career record books at UO, with one Duck extending her lead at the top spot. Senior Cambi Cukar is currently Oregon's all-time career assists leader accumulating 128 assists so far in her career at UO. The Pleasanton, Calif., native has already recorded 14 more assists than Shannon Propst, who sits in the No. 2 spot, with the rest of the season left to play.

Junior Shannon Williams has been UO's leading goal scorer the past two seasons, scoring 51 goals in 2017 to become Oregon's new single-season scoring leader. So far, she has accounted for 88 goals in her career and needs just two more to tie Kristina Barrett for 10th all-time with 90 career goals. Williams also needs just 13 more points to tie Jana Bradley for 10th on the Oregon career points list.

Jill Zubillaga is the second Duck to sit just outside a career top 10 list at the start of the 2018 season. The senior needs to win just five draw controls to tie Cara Mead for 10th with 64 career draw controls.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS' OPPONENTS
The Griffins come to Eugene in search of their first win of the season after falling to Northwestern and Michigan to open the year. Canisius won the first-ever meeting between the two programs last season, 15-11. Three players recorded hat tricks for Canisius in last year's game, with two of those players, Jen Reininger and Allie Stewart, returning for their senior seasons. Reininger currently leads the Griffins with four goals.

SEASON SCHEDULE
The current 2018 season is filled with unique challenges for the Ducks. Apart from playing every Pac-12 team twice, Oregon will take on five teams who made it to the NCAA Tournament last season, Syracuse, Canisius, Towson, USC and Colorado. Four of those teams are currently ranked in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association's top 25 with Syracuse and USC in the top 10. This year's schedule also offers two unique venues for the Ducks. The Ducks and the Orange played their game in West Linn, Ore., in a special game played at West Linn High School. Following that game, Oregon returns to Eugene to face Canisius on the campus rec fields.

READ NAMED INSIDE LACROSSE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Oregon transfer Brittany Read was named an Inside Lacrosse 2018 preseason second team all-America selection. The all-America nod is only the second such honor in program history for Oregon, and the highest any Duck has been selected by Inside Lacrosse. Jen May is the only other Duck to receive Inside Lacrosse all-America honors after being selected to the all-America third team in 2008. The preseason award is based off Read's 2017 accomplishments which includes 194 total saves and a .512 save percentage ranking her fifth and sixth in the NCAA, respectively.

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
The Ducks return 75 percent of their goal-scoring offense this season. Both Mariah Gatti and Shannon Williams netted over 40 goals last season, with Williams breaking the UO single-season record with 51. UO's only major loss on the attacking end is Bella Pyne, who graduated last season. Pyne was second on the team with 43 goals.

With the loss of Pyne and senior goalkeeper Becca Katzen, the Ducks will rely heavily on juniors Mandi Trostle, Julia Taylor and Madeline Reece on the defensive end of the field. All three scooped up at least 20 ground balls and caused at least 10 turnovers last season, with Trostle being UO's only returner to log at least 20 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers.

Including Louisville transfers Brittany Read and Lexy Biller, the Ducks added 10 newcomers to this year's squad. Biller played one season for the Cardinals making five appearances, scoring one and recording three draw controls. UO added depth across the board with their incoming freshmen gaining three midfielders, two attackers, two goalkeepers and one midfielder.

LOOKING BACK AT 2017
In head coach Katrina Dowd's first season as head coach of the Ducks, Oregon recorded a 9-8 overall record, earning a quarterfinal berth in the MPSF conference tournament. Oregon finished the year 5-3 in conference play, their best finish since 2014.

UO had three players named to all-conference teams with Shannon Williams and Bella Pyne earning first team All-MPSF honors while Cambi Cukar took home second team all-conference accolades.

UO enjoyed an offensive renaissance in 2017 scoring 214 total goals, their most since 2014, with three players ranking in the top five for goals scored in a single-season. Then-sophomore Shannon Williams broke the UO single-season goals (51) and points (72) records while Bella Pyne and Mariah Gatti combined for 85 goals to rank third and fifth, respectively.

WORLD CUP PEDIGREE
Head coach Katrina Dowd won't be the only Lacrosse World Cup champion on the sidelines for the Ducks this year. Assistant coaches Michelle Tumolo and Becca Block both earned world cup gold this past summer, the first of their careers. The duo helped team USA go undefeated in tournament play, defeating Canada in the championship match.

LACROSSE BECOMES PAC-12 SPONSORED SPORT
With the establishment of the Arizona State women's lacrosse program, the Pac-12 was able to field the minumum number of required teams to qualify for a conference championship and NCAA tournament automatic-qualifying bid. This upcoming season, each team will play one another twice, home and away, with the first-ever Pac-12 lacrosse championships taking place in Boulder, Colo., Apr. 26-29.

UP NEXT
Following Monday's game, the Ducks will hit the road for the first time this season traveling to Towson Saturday, Mar. 3, to challenge the No. 11 Tigers at 12:00 p.m. PT.