Things have still yet to click for the Oregon men’s club lacrosse team.
The team’s record dropped to 1-4 in Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association play after a pair of losses last weekend in Southern California to No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Chapman.
The Ducks couldn’t withstand a second-half rally by three-time defending national champion Michigan (2-0), losing 9-8 in double overtime Friday night at Harvard Westlake High School in North Hollywood, Calif. At Chapman (4-0), the Ducks again failed to capitalize on a halftime lead, falling 9-5 Sunday night.
“We definitely came out and showed a lot of heart,” senior midfielder Kevin Clark said. “We just ended up not being able to finish.”
Michigan 9, Oregon 8
Largely because of a six-goal outburst in the second quarter, the Ducks entered halftime with a 7-3 lead over the Wolverines. However, the Oregon offense shut down in the second half after Michigan substituted in senior goaltender Andrew Fowler, who had an 85.7 save percentage for the game. The Ducks managed only one goal in the third quarter and failed to find the back of the net for the rest of the game.
“We just need to get in better shape,” senior defenseman Mike Gerrard said. “We went really hard in the first half and then progression just eventually died down.”
Michigan took advantage of Oregon’s tired legs to find momentum and score four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 8-8 at the end of regulation.
After a scoreless first overtime, Michigan got on the board in the second extra period with senior attacker Chad Carroll’s fourth score of the contest, giving the Wolverines the sudden-death victory. Michigan’s total of nine goals was its lowest scoring output in a game thus far in the season.
Senior attacker Max Schlesinger led the way for Oregon with three goals. Clark added two goals and an assist to the Ducks’ effort.
“We got a little bit complacent on offense and just weren’t playing with enough energy and weren’t attacking and trying to score,” Clark said.
Chapman 9, Oregon 5
Against Chapman, Oregon’s second-half woes continued. The Ducks held a 4-2 lead after striking first in the third quarter with sophomore attacker Chris Osip’s goal. But Oregon eventually saw its lead evaporate. The Panthers scored seven straight goals into the fourth quarter and held a 9-4 advantage before Oregon punched in the final goal of the game.
“They outshot us and had way more possession,” Clark said. “We just weren’t winning the groundball battle, and it led to them having more opportunities to score and in the end they capitalized on it.”
Freshman midfielder Evan Merritt had two goals for the Ducks, while Osip, senior midfielder Erik Lyneis and junior midfielder Spencer Robertson rounded out the Oregon scoring with a goal each.
Both of the weekend’s games were rematches from last season. In late March 2010, the Ducks lost 5-4 in Dallas, Texas, coincidentally in another overtime thriller with Michigan. Back home two games later, the Ducks topped Chapman 14-11, giving the Panthers their lone loss in the regular season.
Looking ahead
The Ducks must regroup quickly as they return home for a pair of contests against formidable opponents. The Ducks host No. 18 Sonoma State Saturday before welcoming No. 7 Michigan State Monday.
“These games are very critical,” Clark said. “We just got to come out and have a good week of practice, and I think it’s time to turn the tide around.”
This season the Ducks have installed a spread offense that requires plenty of movement and gives the players more freedom. But Clark isn’t blaming the new system on the team’s struggles.
“Against Michigan we saw in the first half when we run it properly, we can get a lot of great looks and score on some really top teams,” Clark said.
The team’s 1-4 mark is Oregon’s worst start to a season since the MCLA was created in 2006. The miserable start is especially disappointing after a successful 2010 season in which the team lost five games all year and won the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League tournament.
“(We) just haven’t been prepared for these games compared to how well we can be prepared,” Gerrard said.
Clark noted there was a lot of season still ahead for the Ducks, even after the team’s slow start.
“We definitely have time to turn it around,” Clark added. “We do play some top-tier teams, so even though we’ve lost a couple games, if we come back and beat these teams coming up, we’ll be able to stake our claim as a top-tier program.”
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