Photo by: GoDucks.com
Bedrock Of UO Lacrosse Program Won't Let Injury Define Legacy
05/01/23 | Women's Lacrosse, @GoDucksMoseley
Senior Logan Gierke will miss this week's Pac-12 Tournament after a season-ending injury, but she's set a foundation for her team and herself that will endure.
For five years, every step Chelsea Hoffmann took as head coach of the Oregon lacrosse team, she took with Logan Gierke at her side.
When Hoffmann took over the UO program, Gierke was an incoming freshman. Together, they helped rebuild the team's culture. They put the Ducks on a path to competitiveness in the Pac-12 Conference. In the process, Gierke completed her undergraduate degree in three years, and began work on two concurrent master's degrees.
By mid-April of this year, there were only a few more steps for Gierke to take in her lacrosse career. Then, one unlucky misstep changed everything.
But it couldn't keep Gierke from taking a few courageous last steps across Papé Field.
Gierke, a full-time starter on defense for Oregon since the day she arrived on campus, tore a knee ligament on April 14 in a game against Arizona State. The injury ended her UO career, but it didn't keep her from participating two days later in the program's Senior Day ceremony.
One by one prior to the team's home finale against USC on April 16, Oregon's seniors were introduced. They walked arm-in-arm with family through a gauntlet of teammates, to the center of Papé Field. Last to be introduced was Gierke who, despite her injury two days before, was in full uniform for the ceremony.
She leaned on her parents a little more than the other Ducks. Because she was determined to participate in Senior Day without crutches or a brace on her injured knee.
The UO staff had asked Gierke beforehand what accommodations she required in light of the injury. Her answer? None.
"I said, I'm wearing my uniform and I'm ditching the crutches and I'm not wearing a brace," Gierke recalled. "I knew it was torn. And I just said, it can't get much worse. One walk across the 50-yard line is not going to hurt it any more."
For most of the Senior Day ceremony, Hoffmann maintained her composure. But when Gierke was introduced and gamely limped to midfield with help from her parents, Hoffmann had to look away. A light rain was falling that day, but those were tears rolling down Hoffmann's cheeks.
"She even put her cleats on, and that's what I love about her — she didn't miss a step, because she never misses a step," said Hoffmann, whose team opens the Pac-12 against Colorado on Wednesday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network). "Every game she played, her preparation as a captain, she didn't miss a beat. Even to the point where she walked all the way over to the USC head coach, to make sure she shook her hand as a captain. It was just a testament to her character and her resiliency. Nothing was going to slow her down."
For five years at the University of Oregon, until that fateful step against Arizona State, not much did.
Gierke grew up in a lacrosse family. Raised in Winter Park, Fla., outside of Orlando, she watched both her older sisters grow up in the game. Both went on to play at San Diego State.
When it came time for Gierke to pick a place to play in college, she forged her own path and chose Oregon. A coaching change prior to her freshman year didn't dissuade her from joining the Ducks. Hoffmann was hired in August 2018, and one of the first players to welcome her to Eugene was a spritely freshman defender who was already on campus for a summer bridge program.
"Just the sweetest, nicest kid," Hoffmann recalled. "All smiles."
That million-watt smile belied the intensity Gierke brought to any challenge she faced. It's not so much that Gierke finds ways to overcome barriers in her path to success, Hoffman said: "She has no barriers."
How can an obstacle exist, if it's never even acknowledged?
Gierke started 15 games as a true freshman in the spring of 2019. She started all 19 that the Ducks played across the COVID-abbreviated seasons of 2020 and 2021 as well. She also was named to the Pac-12's spring honor roll both years, and as a junior in 2021 she completed her undergraduate degree after just three years on campus.
By the time of her injury against Arizona State in April, Gierke had played in 64 games for Oregon. She was in the starting lineup for every one of them.
Whatever the Ducks needed, Gierke was there. If an issue arose in the locker room, she helped resolve it. If a recruit was on campus and needed a tour, Gierke would provide it.
And on the field, she was the centerpiece of the UO defense. Earlier this season, she became the program's first player to earn a Pac-12 defensive player of the week honor, after helping the Ducks yield just six goals in a win over Xavier.
"She's a lock-down defender, so she matches up with every top attacker in the conference," Hoffmann said. "She's done that since she was a sophomore. And then as we've transitioned between man-to-man, and man vs. zone, she's the IQ, she's the voice. She's the point guard of the defense."
The two days immediately following Gierke's injury illustrated the job she's done helping Hoffmann build a healthy culture within the program.
On the Friday night between games that senior weekend, the team held its annual banquet. Generally, families of the seniors attend, along with the full team. This year's banquet featured more family than ever, of underclassmen as well as the seniors. The extended family of Oregon lacrosse came together to celebrate the team, which has increased its win total each of the last three years.
"Going through those first few years, you knew it might be a rough ride with some rocky moments," Gierke said. "But as you saw her recruits come in, you felt a new energy that was super healthy. A new sort of tenacity for lacrosse, and such well-rounded people — the type of people you always wanted to surround yourself with."
The night of the banquet, Gierke borrowed a dress from one of her sisters. She needed one longer than the one she'd originally picked out, to cover the brace on her injured knee. She knew she'd always treasure the photos from that night, and didn't want them tarnished.
"I was like, there's too many good memories that have happened; I don't want this brace (visible)," Gierke said. "It didn't define my season, it didn't define this year."
Gierke was sidelined for Senior Day the next afternoon, but her impact still was felt. Against high-powered USC, Oregon intended to slow the pace, make it a defensive battle and try to grind out a win. Though Gierke wasn't in her normal spot in the middle of the defense, teammates she helped groom like sophomore Alex Matsuoka fought gamely — they led 1-0 after one quarter and trailed just 3-2 at halftime, before ultimately falling 10-5.
"This whole year I was like, there's so many girls that could be shining right now," Geirke said. "I'm just the fifth-year that's been here for so long. And definitely, I'm playing my heart out. But there's girls every day that are just giving it their all. They're ready. So I was totally confident. …
"I was hoping for a big upset, but they gave us a good run. The defense locked it down. I was freaking out in my chair the whole time."
And of course, the game in which Gierke was injured illustrated how much she meant to the team she's helped lead the last five years.
After being hurt just after halftime, Gierke went inside the team's facility at Papé Field to be evaluated. She knew it would be bad news.
The injury happened under innocuous circumstances. Gierke was running behind Oregon's goal like she had thousands of times, looking to make a pass and get the Ducks into their offense. Her heel hit the ground, pain shot up her leg and she heard an audible pop.
"Last year I tore my lateral meniscus, and I was able to play through that the whole season," she said. "So I knew what knee pain felt like. But I've never felt anything like that."
In search of their first conference win of the year, the Ducks had trailed ASU at halftime, 7-3, but were in the midst of a rally that saw them close within 10-9 entering the fourth quarter. Gierke wanted to get back out to the sideline to cheer on her team. But, she told team director of operations Nellie Schafer, she didn't want to distract from the comeback that was unfolding.
"And she was like, no, they're asking for you to come back out," recalled Gierke, who promptly hopped into a golf cart for a ride back to the UO sideline.
She had an exceptional seat for a fourth quarter in which the Ducks outscored ASU, 3-1, to clinch a 12-11 victory.
"Her teammates weren't feeling like, we can't do this without her," Hoffmann said. "It was like, we have to do this for her. So that was pretty cool. …
"Obviously it's heartbreaking to see her not be able to finish her season. But knowing how much of a mark she's left, how much she's impacted every person's life in this program, that's really what sports is all about."
Gierke made the most of her five years at Oregon off the field as well.
She's one of two players in Hoffmann's five years as head coach to complete her undergraduate degree in three years. She then moved into the Lundquist College of Business' concurrent MBA/MS in finance programs, and is on track to complete that track this academic quarter.
Last summer, Gierke interned with a management firm. She discovered that opportunity at a career fair, where she met a University of Oregon graduate who worked at the firm.
"This whole institution, like, you're destined for success," Gierke said. "If you use every resource you have, success is the only option. There's so much support you're given, and you just have to take advantage of it."
Gierke spent her internship in the firm's Portland office. She'll begin working for them full-time in New York come August. That's a month later than she'd originally planned, about the only concession to her knee injury Gierke has been willing to make.
This week, the Ducks will play in the Pac-12 Tournament hosted by Cal. Gierke won't be able to play; she wasn't even sure if she'd be able to fly down, due to her injury. But whether by plane or car, she was determined to be there and watch her program participate in the postseason, one last time.
How can an obstacle exist, if it's never even acknowledged?
"We've been through some tough stuff together, and she's been there through thick and thin," Hoffmann said. "She's been the heart and soul of this team."
When Hoffmann took over the UO program, Gierke was an incoming freshman. Together, they helped rebuild the team's culture. They put the Ducks on a path to competitiveness in the Pac-12 Conference. In the process, Gierke completed her undergraduate degree in three years, and began work on two concurrent master's degrees.
By mid-April of this year, there were only a few more steps for Gierke to take in her lacrosse career. Then, one unlucky misstep changed everything.
But it couldn't keep Gierke from taking a few courageous last steps across Papé Field.
Gierke, a full-time starter on defense for Oregon since the day she arrived on campus, tore a knee ligament on April 14 in a game against Arizona State. The injury ended her UO career, but it didn't keep her from participating two days later in the program's Senior Day ceremony.
One by one prior to the team's home finale against USC on April 16, Oregon's seniors were introduced. They walked arm-in-arm with family through a gauntlet of teammates, to the center of Papé Field. Last to be introduced was Gierke who, despite her injury two days before, was in full uniform for the ceremony.
She leaned on her parents a little more than the other Ducks. Because she was determined to participate in Senior Day without crutches or a brace on her injured knee.
The UO staff had asked Gierke beforehand what accommodations she required in light of the injury. Her answer? None.
"I said, I'm wearing my uniform and I'm ditching the crutches and I'm not wearing a brace," Gierke recalled. "I knew it was torn. And I just said, it can't get much worse. One walk across the 50-yard line is not going to hurt it any more."
For most of the Senior Day ceremony, Hoffmann maintained her composure. But when Gierke was introduced and gamely limped to midfield with help from her parents, Hoffmann had to look away. A light rain was falling that day, but those were tears rolling down Hoffmann's cheeks.
"She even put her cleats on, and that's what I love about her — she didn't miss a step, because she never misses a step," said Hoffmann, whose team opens the Pac-12 against Colorado on Wednesday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network). "Every game she played, her preparation as a captain, she didn't miss a beat. Even to the point where she walked all the way over to the USC head coach, to make sure she shook her hand as a captain. It was just a testament to her character and her resiliency. Nothing was going to slow her down."
For five years at the University of Oregon, until that fateful step against Arizona State, not much did.
Gierke grew up in a lacrosse family. Raised in Winter Park, Fla., outside of Orlando, she watched both her older sisters grow up in the game. Both went on to play at San Diego State.
When it came time for Gierke to pick a place to play in college, she forged her own path and chose Oregon. A coaching change prior to her freshman year didn't dissuade her from joining the Ducks. Hoffmann was hired in August 2018, and one of the first players to welcome her to Eugene was a spritely freshman defender who was already on campus for a summer bridge program.
"Just the sweetest, nicest kid," Hoffmann recalled. "All smiles."
That million-watt smile belied the intensity Gierke brought to any challenge she faced. It's not so much that Gierke finds ways to overcome barriers in her path to success, Hoffman said: "She has no barriers."
How can an obstacle exist, if it's never even acknowledged?
Gierke started 15 games as a true freshman in the spring of 2019. She started all 19 that the Ducks played across the COVID-abbreviated seasons of 2020 and 2021 as well. She also was named to the Pac-12's spring honor roll both years, and as a junior in 2021 she completed her undergraduate degree after just three years on campus.
By the time of her injury against Arizona State in April, Gierke had played in 64 games for Oregon. She was in the starting lineup for every one of them.
Whatever the Ducks needed, Gierke was there. If an issue arose in the locker room, she helped resolve it. If a recruit was on campus and needed a tour, Gierke would provide it.
And on the field, she was the centerpiece of the UO defense. Earlier this season, she became the program's first player to earn a Pac-12 defensive player of the week honor, after helping the Ducks yield just six goals in a win over Xavier.
"She's a lock-down defender, so she matches up with every top attacker in the conference," Hoffmann said. "She's done that since she was a sophomore. And then as we've transitioned between man-to-man, and man vs. zone, she's the IQ, she's the voice. She's the point guard of the defense."
The two days immediately following Gierke's injury illustrated the job she's done helping Hoffmann build a healthy culture within the program.
On the Friday night between games that senior weekend, the team held its annual banquet. Generally, families of the seniors attend, along with the full team. This year's banquet featured more family than ever, of underclassmen as well as the seniors. The extended family of Oregon lacrosse came together to celebrate the team, which has increased its win total each of the last three years.
"Going through those first few years, you knew it might be a rough ride with some rocky moments," Gierke said. "But as you saw her recruits come in, you felt a new energy that was super healthy. A new sort of tenacity for lacrosse, and such well-rounded people — the type of people you always wanted to surround yourself with."
The night of the banquet, Gierke borrowed a dress from one of her sisters. She needed one longer than the one she'd originally picked out, to cover the brace on her injured knee. She knew she'd always treasure the photos from that night, and didn't want them tarnished.
"I was like, there's too many good memories that have happened; I don't want this brace (visible)," Gierke said. "It didn't define my season, it didn't define this year."
Gierke was sidelined for Senior Day the next afternoon, but her impact still was felt. Against high-powered USC, Oregon intended to slow the pace, make it a defensive battle and try to grind out a win. Though Gierke wasn't in her normal spot in the middle of the defense, teammates she helped groom like sophomore Alex Matsuoka fought gamely — they led 1-0 after one quarter and trailed just 3-2 at halftime, before ultimately falling 10-5.
"This whole year I was like, there's so many girls that could be shining right now," Geirke said. "I'm just the fifth-year that's been here for so long. And definitely, I'm playing my heart out. But there's girls every day that are just giving it their all. They're ready. So I was totally confident. …
"I was hoping for a big upset, but they gave us a good run. The defense locked it down. I was freaking out in my chair the whole time."
And of course, the game in which Gierke was injured illustrated how much she meant to the team she's helped lead the last five years.
After being hurt just after halftime, Gierke went inside the team's facility at Papé Field to be evaluated. She knew it would be bad news.
The injury happened under innocuous circumstances. Gierke was running behind Oregon's goal like she had thousands of times, looking to make a pass and get the Ducks into their offense. Her heel hit the ground, pain shot up her leg and she heard an audible pop.
"Last year I tore my lateral meniscus, and I was able to play through that the whole season," she said. "So I knew what knee pain felt like. But I've never felt anything like that."
In search of their first conference win of the year, the Ducks had trailed ASU at halftime, 7-3, but were in the midst of a rally that saw them close within 10-9 entering the fourth quarter. Gierke wanted to get back out to the sideline to cheer on her team. But, she told team director of operations Nellie Schafer, she didn't want to distract from the comeback that was unfolding.
"And she was like, no, they're asking for you to come back out," recalled Gierke, who promptly hopped into a golf cart for a ride back to the UO sideline.
She had an exceptional seat for a fourth quarter in which the Ducks outscored ASU, 3-1, to clinch a 12-11 victory.
"Her teammates weren't feeling like, we can't do this without her," Hoffmann said. "It was like, we have to do this for her. So that was pretty cool. …
"Obviously it's heartbreaking to see her not be able to finish her season. But knowing how much of a mark she's left, how much she's impacted every person's life in this program, that's really what sports is all about."
Gierke made the most of her five years at Oregon off the field as well.
She's one of two players in Hoffmann's five years as head coach to complete her undergraduate degree in three years. She then moved into the Lundquist College of Business' concurrent MBA/MS in finance programs, and is on track to complete that track this academic quarter.
Last summer, Gierke interned with a management firm. She discovered that opportunity at a career fair, where she met a University of Oregon graduate who worked at the firm.
"This whole institution, like, you're destined for success," Gierke said. "If you use every resource you have, success is the only option. There's so much support you're given, and you just have to take advantage of it."
Gierke spent her internship in the firm's Portland office. She'll begin working for them full-time in New York come August. That's a month later than she'd originally planned, about the only concession to her knee injury Gierke has been willing to make.
This week, the Ducks will play in the Pac-12 Tournament hosted by Cal. Gierke won't be able to play; she wasn't even sure if she'd be able to fly down, due to her injury. But whether by plane or car, she was determined to be there and watch her program participate in the postseason, one last time.
How can an obstacle exist, if it's never even acknowledged?
"We've been through some tough stuff together, and she's been there through thick and thin," Hoffmann said. "She's been the heart and soul of this team."
Players Mentioned
DEF
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
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Jenae Sperling | Postgame vs. Central Michigan
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Paige Crowther | Postgame vs. Central Michigan
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Jessica Drummond | Postgame vs. Stetson
Wednesday, February 12
