Lacrosse to Open 2025 Campaign at Papé Field Friday

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon lacrosse will open the 2025 season on Friday when the Ducks play host to Butler at 5 p.m. at Papé Field.

GAME INFO
When: Friday, Feb. 7
Where: Papé Field | Eugene, Ore.
Time: 5 p.m. PT
Watch: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/livestream/butler-at-oregon/1868178
Live Stats: http://statb.us/b/574204

DUCKS ON THE B1G STAGE
A new dawn begins for Oregon Lacrosse as the program enters its first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The competition will be steep in the new league as five of the Ducks' eight new conference opponents ended the 2024 season ranked in the top-25, but Oregon heads into Year 2 under head coach Jessica Drummond with momentum after setting a new single-season program record for home wins (7) and securing its first winning season since 2017 a year ago. Conference play officially gets underway when the Ducks host Ohio State on March 13.

HOME, SWEET HOME (OPENER)
Over the 11 years, the Ducks have proven to be hard to beat in season openers and even more so when they start the season off on their home turf. The Ducks are 10-1 in season openers since the 2014 season, outscoring opponents by a combined 168-82 margin, and sport a perfect 8-0 record when they kick off the season at Papé Field during that span.

SUPER SIMMONS
Midfielder Anna Simmons made spectacular strides during her sophomore season, solidifying herself as one of the most electric midfielders in the West. The youngest of the Ducks' six team captains finished second on the team with 33 goals and led the Ducks with 21 caused turnovers and will look to make another leap during her junior season, both as a second-year captain and in the stat sheet.

» Set career highs in goals, assists (8), points (42), caused turnovers and draw controls (38).
» Two games with six goals and five total hat tricks in 2024.
» Broke the program record for fastest goal, scoring in five seconds against Marist before doing so again against UC Davis.
» One of two players in the Pac-12 with 30-plus goals and 15-plus caused turnovers, along with former Duck and 2024 Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year Morgan McCarthy.

GAME RECOGNIZED
Three Ducks have already garnered recognition from the Big Ten Conference. Anna Simmons, defender Lexi Jenkins and midfielder Avery Young were among the 27 players across the conference named to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch list.

» Jenkins started all 15 games for the Ducks during her freshman season and was an integral part of Oregon's increased intensity on defense. The 2024 Ducks held opponents under eight goals 10 times after doing so just three times in the three seasons prior.
» Young impressed early in her debut campaign, scoring three goals and adding two assists in three games before being sidelined by injury.

NEW YEAR, NEW DUCKS
The Ducks' roster features a healthy mix of experience and youth heading into the 2025 season, as the Ducks' 30-player roster features a near-even split of 14 upperclassmen and 15 underclassmen. Oregon returns 19 players from last season's squad, nine of whom started at least once and eight who started five or more games. Coach Drummond also added 10 newcomers to the squad: nine freshmen - three midfielders, three defenders, two attackers and a goalkeeper - and one graduate transfer, Bri Carrasquillo, who started 39 games over four seasons at Yale.

» Four returners - Rachel Pallo, Anna Simmons, Abbey Gicewicz and Lexi Jenkins - started all 15 games a season ago.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Friday marks the first-ever meeting between Oregon and Butler and the first time that Jessica Drummond will have coached against the Bulldogs in her career. Butler finished 2-14 and 1-5 in Big East play last season and returns five seniors on the defensive side of the field, but head coach Maggie Zentgraf has also brought in 17 newcomers – 12 freshmen and five transfers – alongside two new assistant coaches for the 2025 campaign, her third at the helm of the program. Elise Latham leads all Bulldog returners offensively after tallying 15 points on 11 goals and four assists a season ago, while Peyton Moroney and Grace Hensley are back anchor the Bulldog defense.