In what Oregon coach Jen Larsen called “a week of firsts,” the Oregon lacrosse team defeated UC Davis 14-9 in the first round of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament in Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday.
It was the first win over the Aggies in the MPSF tournament in program history, giving the Ducks the season sweep.
The Ducks (12-6) advance to the semifinals and play the top-seeded Denver Pioneers today at 1 p.m. Denver didn’t play Wednesday because of a first-round bye. The Pioneers hold a 5-0 all-time series lead over the Ducks, including a 13-12 win on April 5 at Papé Field.
To advance to the championship round, where the Ducks have never played, it will mean beating a Denver team the Ducks have never beaten. A win today would also set another team record, for wins in a season.
Top performers from last night’s game vs. UC Davis
Jen May: | 3 goals, 1 assist |
Ilsa van den Berg: | 3 goals |
Theresa Waldron: | 3 assists |
“I definitely want to get that ‘first’ done,” junior attacker Ilsa van den Berg said. “It has to be done through Denver.”
But before Larsen & Co. could worry about that, they had to beat Davis.
The Ducks got dual hat tricks from van den Berg and senior midfielder Jen May to go with at least one goal from six other players. With her three goals, van den Berg set a new single-season record for goals with 42, one better than May’s 2005 season.
MPSF Tournament- Semifinals
WHO: | Oregon vs. No. 18 Denver |
WHEN: | May 1, 1 p.m. |
WHERE: | Berkeley, Calif. |
The Ducks were able to more than double Davis’ shots on goal, but Larsen said it was a patient effort on the offensive end.
“We really attacked the goal but we didn’t do it in a manner where we were forcing anything,” Larsen said.
Senior attacker Theresa Waldron had three assists, followed by two from junior midfielder Casey Rector, who also added a goal.
“Once again, my teammates are making unbelievable cuts,” Waldron said.
Both teams alternated scoring back-to-back goals within the first nine minutes of the first half before May scored what was the first of four consecutive goals for the Ducks. Two of those goals belonged to freshman Alex Breiner.
“I was very excited to see what Alex was doing,” Larsen said.
Both teams scored three goals each before the first half ended, but the four-goal spurt was the difference, with the Ducks leading 9-5 at the half.
In the second half, both teams traded goals with Davis scoring five times to Oregon’s four, and the Ducks held on for the win.
Van den Berg was especially happy after beating the Aggies.
“They’re one of the teams that I hate the most,” said van den Berg, who also tied the program’s single-season record for points, with 58. Davis’ Katie McMahon, the MPSF’s leading scorer, scored three goals but was ejected late in the second half with two yellow cards.
Despite concentrating on UC Davis Wednesday, van den Berg said she couldn’t help but have Denver on the mind after seeing the team at practice and in the stands during the game.
“I know they were practicing right before our game,” van den Berg said, “and as we were walking in they were walking off but it was kind of that awkward silence because we were like ‘Hey we’re going to play you tomorrow.’”
For the seniors like Waldron, it’s their last chance to take out the two-time defending MPSF champions.
“I think that we all know we can beat them for sure. We’ve been saying this the past couple years,” Waldron said. “But now, we just have to get over that little hump and play our game.”
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