Washington State was the next in line to play the Oregon women’s rugby team this past weekend, and what happened? The Cougars lost, as one has come to expect from Oregon’s opponents.
“I didn’t think they had their best foot forward,” Oregon coach Greg Farrell said.
The defense was, once again, very dominant in not allowing Washington State to score in the Ducks’ 34-0 win. In the women’s victory, flanker Shannon Barlow was the player of the match, scoring one tri and coming up with some big plays.
“Our defense has been doing very well,” Farrell said.
Farrell also said the Cougars were a little stronger and more organized than Oregon’s past opponents, and that they also outsized the Ducks. But, he said, the women’s conditioning made up for it.
Next up, the women play Oregon State in a highly anticipated battle which will most likely determine who represents the Pacific Northwest in the future. The two teams face off at 11:30 a.m. Saturday on Southbank Field.

Men’s rugby falls to Cal
Although a 57-0 loss to California may look bad, it’s not, because the score doesn’t portray how well the Oregon men’s rugby team played.
The Ducks were able to continuously recycle the ball, four or five times, and in the first half dominated in the scrums. The Golden Bears weren’t even that dominant in driving the ball up the middle, but were able to overload the weak side to get scores, according to Oregon coach Bob Snyder.
“They didn’t push us around, but beat us with their speed,” Snyder said.
The Ducks played the Bears this past weekend better than any other team has in awhile. California has slaughtered other teams, such as Chico State, 97-0, St. Mary’s, 78-0, and Oklahoma, 104-0.
“We probably should have had three or four scores but just couldn’t finish,” Snyder said. “Realistically, they aren’t that much better, but simply created opportunities for themselves that we couldn’t defend.”

Women’s lacrosse improves over weekend
The Oregon women’s lacrosse team competed in the Whitman Sweet Onion Shoot-out this weekend in Walla Walla, Wash.
On Saturday, the women played Whitman and lost 7-2. The women faced Washington the same day, jumping to a first half 4-2 lead before losing, 4-8. Oregon also lost to Relax, a Seattle women’s club team.
The Ducks claimed some revenge on Sunday, though, when they killed Whitman, 9-1.
“We were really able to come together as a team, and these girls improved so fast,” Oregon head coordinator Terra Cloyes said. “We were really happy with them.”
It was the Ducks’ first tournament, which included teams throughout the Northwest. Nearly two-thirds of the Ducks had never played a single game in a collegiate uniform before. According to Cloyes, the women were a totally different team by Sunday’s game.
“From the first game to the last game we improved 100 percent,” said sophomore Katie Dorst.

Men’s lacrosse wins Northwest battle
The Huskies came to Eugene this weekend looking for their first conference win, but the Ducks sent them back to the Dawg house, winning 9-5.
Washington took a 2-1 lead after the first, but the Ducks dominated in the second quarter, scoring five goals and taking a 6-2 lead at the half.
It was all over after that, as midfielders Pat O’Donnel and Dominic Kan sparked the Ducks’ offense to victory. The defense, led by sophomore Jeff Schmid, also played well.
“They [Huskies] were working very individually and not as a team,” junior Oregon coordinator Beau Dickey said. “We had a good game against them.”
The next few games for the Ducks are very important because they will determine the conference standings. The top six teams go to the playoffs, and the men are currently ranked second. Coming up this weekend, the Ducks will play Washington State and Montana, both in Washington.