Ducks Mile High Bound to Conclude MPSF Play
EUGENE – The Oregon women’s lacrosse team is set to finish up Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play this weekend when it flies to Colorado for a pair of matches. The Ducks will first take on Denver, this year’s MPSF Tournament host, on Friday, April 24, at 4 p.m. before concluding conference play in Boulder against Colorado at noon on Sunday, April 26.
UO’s match on Friday against Denver will be aired on Altitude TV. To find Altitude TV for your cable provider, click here.
This weekend’s matches will have tournament seeding implications for Oregon as well. If the Ducks get a sweep this weekend, it could get as high as a No. 3 seed should San Diego State drop its final game to USC. UO could also drop as low as the No. 6 seed should it get swept this weekend.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Friday’s match-up against Denver will determine whether Oregon will have an opportunity to play for the No. 3 seed in the MPSF Tournament next week. The Pioneers are 10-4 on the year with a 5-2 record in conference play. DU is 0-2 this year against ranked opponents, falling to No. 4 Syracuse 18-10 and No. 13 Stanford 14-7.
Jill Remenapp paces Denver with 48 points (17g, 31a) while Nicole Martindale leads the Pioneers with 27 goals and second on the team with 34 points. Kiki Boone (23g, 3a) and Rachael Dillon (22g, 1a) round out the 20-point scorers for DU with 26 and 23 points, respectively. Boone also leads the team with 39 draw controls.
On the defensive end, goalie Hannah Hook leads the team with 36 groundballs while Dillon comes in second with 20. Ali Proehl (13), Katherine Fischer (12), Layne Vorhees (11) and Dillon (10) have been the defensive front line for the Pioneers, holding opponents to 9.14 goals per game.
TACKLING THE BUFFALOES
Sunday’s contest between Oregon and Colorado will be the final episode of conference play. The Buffs’ enter the match 8-6 overall and 3-4 in conference. However, CU will be battling Fresno State on Friday as UO and DU go at it in Denver. Sunday’s match up will have a little more flair to it as Colorado battles for the final spot in the MPSF Tournament
CU is led by Darby Kiernan with 45 points (37g, 8a) while Johnna Fusco trails Kiernan by just one point, checking in with 44 (36g, 8a). The two are separated by just one goal. Katie Macleay is third on the team with 30 points (17g, 13a) while Blair Sisk (22g, 3a), Marie Moore (21g, 4a) and Carly Cox (7g, 16a) round out the 20-point scorers.
Paige Soenksen commands the Buffaloes defense with a 9.75 goals against average and 120 saves in 757:05 minutes of action. Darby and Fusco are also standouts for CU on the defensive end with 15 and 11 caused turnovers, respectively. Kiernan also leads the team with 26 groundballs while Moore is second with 22. Moore is the Buff’s leader in draw controls with 41, but Fusco is right behind her with 40 while Kiernan trails at third with 36.
UO TOP-10
Midfielders Hayley Milner and Carly O'Connell have now both cracked the top-10 in career-goals at Oregon with 84. O’Connell also saw herself move up on spot in the career-caused turnover category with 53, tying her with Bridget Morrison (53, 2010-13) for ninth.
CENTURIAN
Senior Hayley Milner reached the 100-point plateau as a Duck two weeks ago against UC Davis when she connected with Olivia Pyne a minute and 46 seconds into the game. Milner was two points shy heading into that weekend, but needed just one more point after scoring a goal against Stanford two days prior.
DUCK REPORT
Through 15 games, Oregon has outscored its opponents 186-130 while outshooting its opponents 419-258 with 73 percent of shots coming on goal. Olivia Pyne has a narrow lead in goals with 33, while Carly O'Connell slightly edges Pyne with 44 points (29g, 15a). Cambi Cukar (6g, 34a), Holly Johnson (19g, 9a), Hayley Milner (26g, 5a) and Courtney Valdez (19g, 4a) round out the 20-point scorers for Oregon.
Oregon’s 3.73 scoring margin ranks UO 24th in the nation and third in the conference behind No. 15 Stanford and USC. Its 12.40 goals per game is good for 28th in the country. The Ducks’ are also ranked in the top-25 in scoring defense, checking in at No. 21, holding opponents to just 8.67 goals per game.
Cukar’s 34 assists and 2.27 assists per game both rank sixth in the nation and lead the MPSF. Her 40 points (6g, 30a) ties Pyne for second on the team. Pyne’s 33 goals on the year place her sixth amongst players in the MPSF. O’Connell is sixth in the conference with 3.27 draw controls per game, and sixth in the MSPF with 44 points.
Janelle Parker’s 9.32 goals against average ranks her third in the conference only Gussie Johns of USC.
