Oregon may only have one senior, but 15 other Ducks have already experienced two years worth of highs and lows together. This third season, powered by the originators of the program’s first varsity season in 2005, casts a core of juniors hungry for success.
“All the juniors are the starters, are the leaders, they’re the ones rallying everyone up,” said junior Jen May, who owns a program record 69 total goals and 95 total points. “So it’s no surprise that so many are still here. They are super dedicated to this program and, until they hit Nationals, they are gonna stick it out here until they’re done.”
Twenty-two total players, including all 12 starters, also return from the 2006 season, which saw the Ducks improve to 10-9 and finish third at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament by earning two victories.
A year earlier, the newly born Division I squad concluded the season 6-11.
“We’ve gotten so used to each other’s style of play,” junior midfielder Erin Gaebe said. “We have been such a tight-knit group and now it is translating in the way we read each other on the field.
“Right now the biggest thing is our attitude. Last year there were lots of expectations, kind of like outside pressure, and now we want it for ourselves. We know we can do it and it is like this urgency to get it done because we only have two years left. We have to.”
Oregon’s lone senior is North Carolina transfer Brooke Dieringer. As a Tar Heel, Dieringer redshirted during the 2005 season after tearing her left anterior cruciate ligament and undergoing surgery. A year before, she was fifth on the team in scoring with 22 points (16 goals and six assists). She re-injured her ACL and will opt to play with a brace this season, rather than afford it recovery time.
Oregon coach Jen Larsen said she is a silent leader and an outstanding student.
The Ducks’ crop of sophomores and juniors includes junior Jana Bradley, who led the Ducks with 34 goals last year, and Alison Leiner, a redshirt sophomore who tallied a team-best 58 points in 2006. Oregon also signed three letters of intent during the off season.
Oregon’s first test comes Saturday when Oregon hosts two-time conference champion Stanford, which became the first MPSF team to make it into the NCAA Championship last year. Stanford lost to eventual two-time national champion Northwestern, which May said makes for good inspiration.
“Northwestern made it into the Tournament after their third year,” May said. “We can do it, too.”
Larsen said she is mostly just focused on her team.
“Our real focus is on us,” said Larsen, also in her third year. “Stanford hasn’t played anybody, and we could go watch all kinds of film from last year, but they have new assistants, they could be putting in new stuff, this is us right now.”
Oregon’s first two games of the year are at home against conference opponents Stanford and UC Davis on Feb. 18 and the Ducks last three contests of the regular season are away games against the rest of the conference, California, St. Mary’s and Denver.
Slated in the middle of the Ducks’ conference season are two difficult road trips to the East Coast and four straight at home. The Ducks went 5-5 on the road last season.
“We are looking for mental sharpness and wanting some more lacrosse smarts,” Larsen said. “Seeing the options and making the correct decision.
“We are getting more poised with the ball, putting more pressure on the ball. When we don’t have it we want the ball more, and when we actually get it we know what to do with it. It’s the execution part that we need to make sure that we are doing.”