This weekend marked two key games for the Oregon men’s Club lacrosse team.
The eighth-ranked Ducks attempted to break a six-year losing streak against Chico State on Friday and battled Simon Fraser on Sunday, a rematch of last year’s championship game.
After shellacking Pacific Lutheran 23-3 to begin the season, the Ducks knew this weekend would prove to be a better indicator of needed improvements.
“We knew coming into this weekend that we were not playing a team like Pacific Lutheran,” team coordinator Justin Cooley said. “We knew we had to play at our full potential to win.”
Friday Oregon hosted Chico State, a team it had not beaten in six years. The Ducks started quickly by taking a 3-0 lead, but the Bulldogs settled down and responded to tie the game at five after two quarters.
The lead changed hands several times, but seven Oregon goals in the final two quarters were too much for the Bulldogs to overcome as the Ducks clinched the 11-10 victory.
The Ducks’ ability to contain Chico State’s Dan Yob in the second half was a key factor. Yob finished the game with five of the Bulldogs’ 10 goals. He also had one assist.
Oregon midfielder Julian Coffman had two goals and two assists, and Chris Nelson and Alex Parker also pitched in two goals for the Ducks.
“The curse of the Bulldog has been broken,” Oregon head coach Josh Barbour said after Friday’s victory. “I am thrilled to have that monkey off our back.”
The win gave Oregon a 2-0 record heading into Sunday’s A Division opener against Simon Fraser. It was in search of revenge after the Ducks defeated Simon Fraser 19-9 in last season’s Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League’s championship game.
“Simon Fraser has turned into a huge rivalry for us,” Barbour said. “We knew they were not push-overs, and we knew we were not
going to beat them by 10 goals like we did
last year.”
Simon Fraser started the game strong with two early goals and managed a 5-2 lead at halftime.
The Clan added another goal in the third to take a 6-2 advantage. Oregon stormed back, however, scoring three goals in the fourth, but the Ducks eventually fell 7-5, suffering their first loss of the season.
“I thought we played better team defense against (Simon Fraser),” Barbour said. “Unfortunately, the ball was not dropping for us, and we were not able to finish.”
Oregon managed an impressive 57 shots on goal, but Simon Fraser goalie Aaron Pascas had 27 saves to preserve the victory for the Clan. In addition to Pascas, Mike Christians gave the Ducks trouble. He accounted for five of the Simon Fraser’s seven goals.
For Oregon, Danny Ernst had an assist and tossed in two goals.
“This game shows that we have a lot to work on if we want to be one of the elite teams,” Barbour said. “It let us know where we stand. We did a lot of things well, but we have a long way to go.”
The Ducks take on Gonzaga and Washington State this weekend in Spokane and
Pullman, Wash.
“The good news is that this loss came early in the season and really gives us motivation to get better,” Barbour said.

Luke Andrews is a Freelance Reporter for the Emerald