Ducks Face Mercer in Season Debut

Eugene, Ore. - The Oregon women's lacrosse team opens its 2019 season this weekend hosting Mercer on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (PST).

SEASON SCHEDULE
The upcoming 2019 season will be filled with unique challenges for the Ducks. Apart from playing every Pac-12 team twice, Oregon will take on four teams who made it to the NCAA Tournament last season, Mercer, Jacksonville, Stanford and Colorado. This year's schedules also offers two unique locations. The Ducks will host a tournament in Las Vegas next weekend, where they will face off against San Diego State on Feb. 15 and Fresno State on Feb. 17. Oregon will also play in a special game against Ohio State on March 30 at the U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Md.

OREGON TO HOST PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
Oregon has been selected as the site of the 2019 Pac-12 Women's Lacrosse Tournament, a four-day event from April 25-28. The Ducks finished their first season in the Pac-12 Conference in 2018 with a conference mark of 4-6 and an overall record of 9-9. Oregon concluded its season in the second round of the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament when it fell to Colorado, 6-16, on April 27, 2018. Stanford went on to become the 2018 Pac-12 Women's Lacrosse Tournament champions.

BILLER NAMED INSIDE LACROSSE PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Midfielder Lexy Biller was named an Inside Lacrosse 2019 preseason honorable mention all-America selection. The all-America nod is only the third such honor in program history for Oregon. Brittany Read was selected for second-team honors in 2018, while Jen May received third team honors in 2008. The preseason award is based off Biller's 2018 accomplishments.

Biller made her mark on Oregon in 2018, breaking a program record with 114 draw controls and tying the school record for draw controls in a single game with 10 draw controls against No. 7 Syracuse on Feb. 18. Biller's 6.33 draw controls per game average ranked second in the Pac-12 Conference and 13th in the NCAA. She also registered 11 goals and three assists during the 2019 season.

NEW COACHING FACES
Head coach Chelsea Gamble is in her first season as Oregon's head coach. Gamble served as the offensive coordinator for Pac-12 opponent Stanford for the last four seasons (2015-18). While there, she helped lead Stanford to a pair of conference champinships, including the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament title in 2018, and three NCAA appearances.

Gamble brings with her defensive coordinator Nicole Price and offensive coordinator Anna Salemo. Price arrives at Oregon after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Dartmouth. Last season, Price helped Dartmouth to qualify for its first Ivy League tournament since 2013. Salemo, a former Stanford player under Gamble, spent the 2018 season at Fort Lewis College, helping the SkyHawks to a No. 4 ranking in the Rocky Mountain Conference.

HALL NAMED TO U.S. WOMEN'S U19 TEAM
Freshman goalkeeper Rachel Hall was one of 23 players named to the 2019 U.S. Women's U19 National Team. Hall made the roster after serving on the training team in August and participating in the Fall and Spring Classics in October and January.

Hall comes to Oregon after being selected as a top prospect on the Inside Lacrosse watch list. She last represented the United States at the U.S. Lacrosse Women's National Team Tournament in 2015. A two-time all-state selection out of Texas, Hall also participated in the Under Armor All-American games from 2016-18.

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
The Ducks return 18 letterwinners from last season. Six members of last year's starting lineup remain, including Lexy Biller, Caroline Jaworski, Madeline Reece, Julia Taylor, Mandi Trostle and Shannon Williams.

Including Stony Brook transfer Marlee Moon Gaddy, the Ducks added 10 newcomers to this year's squad. Gaddy played one season for the Seawolves, seeing action in eight games to record four goals and three ground balls.

WILLIAMS MAKES OREGON HISTORY
Attacker Shannon Williams made her mark on Oregon history last season. The senior broke her own record for individual points in a single season with 74 points during 2018.

Williams also broke a number of program individual career records. She became Oregon's all-time points per game leader, averaging 3.63 points per game in her three year career with 189 points over 52 games. In addition, Williams gained the goals per game record, averaging 2.35 goals per game with 122 goals over the same 52 games. Lastly, the senior holds the shots per game program record with an average of 5.25 shots per game.

While Williams leads the program in these three categories, she is also climbing the ladder in five other school records:

• Williams stands at No. 4 in program history in goals with 122 goals to date. Jana Drommond (2009-12) holds the record with 146 goals.
• The senior is No. 5 in Oregon history career points with 189 points. Shannon Propst (2011-14) is the current career point leader with 219 points.
• She is No. 6 in career assists with 67 assists. Cambi Cukar (2015-18) broke the record last year with 176 assists.
• Williams also stands at No. 3 in assists per game. She currently averages 1.29 assists per game. Cukar also holds this record with an average of 2.51 assists per game.
• Lastly, the senior comes in at No. 5 in career shot attempts with 273 shot attempts. Drummond holds this record with 339 career shots.

DRAW CONTROL BILLER
Midfielder Lexi Biller broke the single season record for draw controls with 114 draw controls during the 2018 season. Carly O'Connell was the previous holder of this record with 77 draw controls in 2014.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS' OPPONENTS
UO's first opponent of the 2019 season, Mercer, is coming off a successful 2018 season. The Bears earned their spot as the Southern Conference Tournament champions last season after defeating No.1 seeded Detroit Mercy, 18-17, and No. 3 seeded Furman, 18-8. They went on to the first round of the NCAA Championships, where they fell to Wagner, 13-9. Mercer registered an overall record of 9-11 in 2018 with a conference mark of 3-2.

LOOKING BACK AT 2018
The Ducks finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 9-9. They ended the season with a regular season with a conference mark of 4-6. Oregon made it to the second round of the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament after defeating California, 22-9. The team ended the season by falling to No. 14 Colorado, 16-6.

UO had five players named to all-conference teams. Jill Zubillaga took home first team allocades, while Mariah Gatti, Brittany Reed, Cambi Cukar and Shannon Williams were named All-Pac-12 second team.