MPSF Tourney Time for UO Lacrosse
EUGENE, Ore. ? The fast and furious 10-week regular season for women's lacrosse is in the books and the University of Oregon will now compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament. The Ducks (11-4, 4-2) go into the competition as the No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 Fresno State (0-13, 0-6) on Thursday at 1 p.m.
Should the Ducks win - they shutout Fresno State earlier this season, 20-0 - UO would face either No. 3 Cal or No. 6 Saint Mary's in the semifinals on Friday. Top ranked Stanford (10-4, 6-0) has the tourney's only bye and will face with winner of No. 4 Denver vs. No. 5 UC Davis.
The championship game will be held Sunday at 1 p.m.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Fresno State (0-13, 0-6) is a first-year women's lacrosse program and has struggled mightily this season, losing games by an average score of 18-3. The Bulldogs were blanked three times (Cal, Oregon and Johns Hopkins) and scored only one goal on three other occasions. Their closest result in MPSF play was a 15-3 defeat against Saint Mary's on April 4. Heather Jack leads Fresno State with 10 of the team's 37 goals on the season.
SERIES HISTORY
The Ducks and Bulldogs have met one time with UO recording the only shutout in program history, 20-0, on March 6 of this year.
OREGON'S MPSF TOURNEY HISTORY
The Ducks are 2-4 all-time at the MPSF tournament, not including consolation games (for third or fifth place). Both of their wins have come in the quarterfinal round: 19-8 over Saint Mary's in 2006 and 14-9 vs. UC Davis last year. Oregon has placed third in the tournament the last three seasons, following a fifth-place finish in 2005.
Tournament Record vs. Opponent (quarterfinal, semifinal or championship games only)
Denver, 0-2
UC Davis, 1-1
Stanford, 0-1
Saint Mary's, 1-0
RECORD RUN?
At 11-4 heading into the
federation tourney, the Ducks sit two wins away from tying the program
record of 13 set last season (13-7), and three wins from a new
benchmark. At 4-2 in league, UO matched its previous best from the '07
season (4-1), when the MPSF had six teams.
SPREAD OFFENSE
Oregon's success this season is
largely a product of its incredibly balanced attack. Six Ducks have 24
or more points, including four with 30 and above. Not a single UO
player ranks among the federation leaders in points, yet Oregon is the
third highest scoring team in the MPSF.
WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR
The MPSF has applied for and hopes to receive an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA women's lacrosse championship. Currently the NCAA championship for the sport is determined by a 16-team tournament with only eight schools receiving at-large bids.
LUCKY SEVEN
Freshman midfielder Jana Drummond became the first Oregon player to score seven goals in a single game, performing the feat in a 13-12 sudden-victory loss at Cal on April 17. Drummond's total was the second-highest in MPSF history and earned her co-player of the week honors. She enters the federation tournament as Oregon's leader in points with 37 on 30 goals and seven assists. She ranks seventh in the MPSF in goals, one behind teammate Ilsa van den Berg.
POPPING OFF
Senior goalie Anna Poponyak set Oregon's single-game saves mark with 18 stops against Virginia Tech April 11. During the game, Poponyak recorded the 500th save of her career, extending her UO record. She ranks second in goals against average (9.48) and first in save percentage (.490) in the MPSF.
NEW ALL-TIME LEADER
Senior attacker Ilsa van den Berg became Oregon's all-time points leader with her two-goal effort at Cal on April 17, which gave her 186 in her career. She added three more points at Saint Mary's on April 19 and is now four points clear of current assistant coach Jen Derby's (May) former team best of 185.
MADE IN OREGON
Oregon native Catherine Davidson has made quite an impact during her rookie season with the Ducks. The freshman attacker from Lake Oswego, Ore., is UO's third-leading scorer with 26 goals and 35 points, and leads all MPSF players with four game-winning goals. Her latest GWG came in the Ducks' historic win at Denver on April 4 as she scored a hat trick in the second half to help halt DU's three-year league unbeaten streak.
POPONYAK EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
Senior goalie Anna Poponyak became the second Oregon player to earn MPSF player of the week honors this season after being recognized for her 11-save effort in UO's 11-9 win at Denver. The win was the first for the Ducks in seven all-time meetings against DU.
SENIOR NETS GOAL SCORING CROWN
Senior attacker Ilsa van den Berg is now Oregon's all-time leading goal scorer, thanks to her five-goal effort at Le Moyne March 28. The Reisterstown, Md., product scored four times in the first half to eclipse Jen Derby's (May) (2005-08) mark of 128 and potted the record breaker on the game's final shot.
VAN DEN BERG NAMED POTW
Ilsa van den Berg earned the third MPSF player of the week honor of her career for her five-goal, six-point effort in UO's win over Johns Hopkins March 15. Van den Berg equaled her career high for goals in lifting the Ducks to victory. She tallied four of her goals during a second-half comeback, including a stretch of three straight to tie the game 9-9. Her fifth and final goal proved to be the game winner in the 12-10 win. The weekly award was the first by an Oregon player this season.
AUTZEN ADVANTAGE
Due to heavy rain, which caused unplayable conditions on Pape' Field March 15, Oregon moved its game with Johns Hopkins to Autzen Stadium and defeated the traditionally strong women's lacrosse program for the first time in four tries. It was UO's first home game outside of Pape'. Autzen, the home of Oregon football, has also hosted home soccer matches in the past.
CLEAN SHEET
On March 6 against Fresno State, head coach Jen Larsen's team recorded the first shutout in the program's five-year history, downing the Bulldogs 20-0.
J-MAY DAY
Oregon assistant coach Jen Derby (May) was honored on March 13 in Los Angeles as the conference officially recognized the 20 Pac-10 Medal winners from the 2007-08 season. Derby was joined by former UO classmate and Duck quarterback Dennis Dixon, who was Oregon's male representative. A Conference Medal is awarded annually at each member institution to that member's outstanding senior male and female student-athlete based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics, and leadership. The Pac-10 Medal is the highest Conference honor a student-athlete can receive.
AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
Senior Ilsa van den Berg ranks sixth in the MPSF in goals per game (2.07) and fourth in shots per game (5.13) ... Freshman Jana Drummond ranks seventh with an average of 2.00 goals per game ... Freshman Bina Barrett is ninth in assists per game (0.87) ... Senior Alicia Burkhart is fourth in ground balls per game, scooping an average of 2.29 per contest ... Freshman Catherine Davidson ranks first with four game-winning goals ... Senior goalie Anna Poponyak ranks first in save percentage (.490) and second in goals against average (9.48).
