Spring Break Continues in New York for LAX
EUGENE – The Oregon women’s lacrosse team will embark on the second leg of its road trip this week when the Ducks take on LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, March 26, and No. 12 Stony Brook on Saturday, March 28. The two games will wrap up the 2015 edition of Oregon’s Spring Break journey as UO hits the heart of its conference schedule when it returns home.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Thursday’s 1 p.m. (PT) match-up between Oregon and LIU Brooklyn will be the first between the two schools. The Blackbirds sport a 3-4 record heading into the contest and will wrap up their non-conference schedule this weekend as well. LIU Brooklyn was recently riding a two-game losing streak before the Blackbirds defeated Delaware State on March 23, 17-9.
As of March 24, LIU Brooklyn is 23rd in the nation in caused turnovers with 9.29 per game and 13th in scoring offense with 14.14 per game. The Blackbirds are second in their conference in draw controls with 12.86 per game, trailing only Robert Morris (18.38).
Dale Cosgrave is ranked 17th compared to others around the country with 16 assists on the year and second in the Northeast Conference. Cosgrave is seventh, however, in the assists per game category and first in the NEC. Sophomore Jenn Peters is seventh in the nation with 30 goals on the year to lead the team and NEC. Her 5.43 points per game is good for second in the nation and tops the conference.
On the defensive side, Carlie Robinson is ninth in the country with 3.29 groundballs per game. Her 23 groundballs on the year leads the team, while her 21 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers are good for second. Tori Shinkowitz owns the team lead with 25 draw controls and second on the team with 14 ground balls.
In the cage, Alexis Maldonado has started 6-of-7 games for LIU Brooklyn with a 15.03 goals against average to go with 45 saves. The junior keeper is 2-4 on the year and sports a .366 saves percentage in 311:17 minutes of action. Darrien Diaz is the backup goalie and has played in 4-of-7 games with one start and rocks a 9.38 GAA. She has 13 saves on the year with a 1-0 record and a .433 saves percentage.
ATTACKING THE SEAWOLVES
At 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, the Ducks will get an opportunity to make headlines when they face their first top-25 opponent of the season. Oregon is set to square off against No. 12 Stony Brook for the fourth time in school history. SBU heads into Saturday’s match-up 8-0 on the year and is only one of three teams in the nation still undefeated (No. 1 Maryland & No. 2 Boston College).
UO leads the all-time series 2-1 with each team winning on its home field. The last time the two teams squared off was in 2009 when Oregon defeated Stony Brook 11-8 in Baltimore, Md., in a neutral site match to give the Ducks the 2-1 series advantage. Neither team was ranked in all three games.
The Seawolves are known for their defense, checking in at No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense with opponents averaging just 5.25 goals per game. Stony Brook is also 10th in the country when it comes to scoring margin (6.13). Stony Brook is second in the nation in scoring defense thanks to its keeper, Katlyn Leahy (37 saves), who is second in the nation with a 5.27 goals against average.
The Seawolves can also turn on the jets when needed, outscoring their opponents 91 to 42. Klylie Ohlmiller, a Lacrosse Magazine mid-season All-American honorable mention, is 17th in the country with 16 assists on the year. SBU’s Courtney Murphy (27g, 4a) is 12th in the nation with 3.38 goals per game (27g). Ohlmiller (15g, 16a) is tied with Murphy for the team lead with 31 points while Dorrien Van Dyke (12g, 4a), Michelle Rubino (12g, 4a) and Amber Kupres (12g, 1a) round out the list of players with double-digit goals.
Rubino’s 21 draw controls and 13 caused turnovers are good for best on the team, but Van Dyke is on her tails with 20 draw controls. Maegan Meritz leads the team with 18 groundballs while Leahy is second on the team with 15.
MOVIN’ ON UP
Junior midfielder Carly O'Connell has now moved into second all-time draw controls for the Ducks with 157, trailing only current assistant coach Jen May Derby (209). O’Connell has also currently cracked the top-10 list in caused turnovers for the Ducks, checking in at 45. The Southborough, Mass., native is also fourth on the all-time assists leaderboard for UO.
TOPS IN THE NATION
Oregon is ranked in the top-25 in three different categories as of March 24. The Ducks are 11th in the nation in scoring defense (7.00), 13th in scoring margin (5.78), 24th in scoring offense and 21st in points (172).
Freshman Cambi Cukar’s 21 assists and 2.33 assists per game ranks her sixth and fourth in the national, respectively, and leads the conference in both categories. Carly O'Connell is 23rd in the nation with her 4.00 draw controls per game. In the cage, Janelle Parker ranks 13th amongst keepers and second in the conference.
LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks didn’t open the first leg of their road trip as planned when Oregon dropped its opening game to Monmouth, 15-7, in Fresno, Calif. UO was outpaced by the Hawks in several categories, including shots (33-23), groundballs (11-7), draw controls (13-9) and assists (8-4). Oregon had seven different players score, but none tallying more than a single goal while Monmouth had four players with multiple goals.
Two days later, Oregon rebounded with a, 14-7, win over Fresno State and improved to 2-1 in conference play. The Ducks were led by Olivia Pyne, who fired in three goals on three shots while four other players netted a pair of goals each. Cambi Cukar continues to pace the team in assists with four against the Bulldogs, pushing her season total to 21. Natalie Modly picked up a new season-high with four draw controls in the win for UO.
