The Feb. 3 announcement that women’s lacrosse would become a varsity sport at Oregon in 2004 could easily have led to bitterness from the men’s club lacrosse team.
Instead, the Ducks saw the move as a plus for lacrosse in general at Oregon and hope that one day it leads to a men’s varsity program.
“I think it’s great,” said student coordinator Jim O’Neill of the addition of women’s lacrosse to the varsity roster. “I just hope it paves the way for a future varsity program for the men.”
Men’s lacrosse would bring an entirely different game to the table. Contact is allowed and sticks feature a pocket to help cradle the ball during contact. With contact, players patrolling different zones and on-the-fly substitutions, men’s lacrosse is similar, in ways, to ice hockey.
The Oregon men play in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League, which is a member of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. With more than 170 teams, varsity and club, the USILA provides a high level of competition.
“(The USILA) is really well organized,” junior attack Jon Opet said. “Kids can play and still focus on academics.”
With lacrosse being a mysterious sport to many on the West Coast, Opet said college coaches from the East Coast — where lacrosse is a monster sport — choose not to recruit out west. He said the USILA gives those players a chance to show their skills.
“(The USILA) is great athletes and great lacrosse players,” Opet said. “It’s taken pretty seriously.”
The Ducks are off to a 5-2 start this season, including a win over No. 19 Cal Poly on Friday. Oregon’s 3-1 conference record is good for third place, a game behind Simon Fraser and Pacific Lutheran.
“(Simon Fraser) has been kicking ass in our league for about six years,” Opet said. “They are the standard of lacrosse in the Northwest.”
Opet, who had two assists against Cal Poly, is considered a team leader.
“Jonny’s a real good player,” O’Neill said. “A lot of the time he’s our go-to guy. He has a really good idea of how the game works.”
Along with Opet, who is tied for third on the team in scoring, the Ducks feature Chris Nelson, who leads the team in scoring, and the one-two punch of Conor and Taylor Schofield. Conor Schofield, a junior midfielder, said he enjoys playing with his younger brother, who is a sophomore.
“We definitely have a field sense together,” Conor Schofield said. “I play on midfield and he plays attack so we get a lot of hook-ups.”
Taylor Schofield, who leads the Ducks with 18 goals, said he enjoys the skills and toughness that are needed to be a successful lacrosse player.
“Being in shape and hand-eye coordination (are important),” Taylor Schofield said. “You have to be able to hold your own or you’ll get tooled.”
The Ducks face Western Washington at home Saturday at 2 p.m. at the turf field. With the season off to a good start, the Ducks are looking to advance to the PNCLL tournament and hopefully on to the USILA national tournament May 7-10 in St. Louis. A strong finish to the season could attract the attention the Ducks need to help bring a men’s varsity program in the future.
“We’re kicking ass this year,” Taylor Schofield said. “I hope the Oregon lacrosse program keeps growing.”
Jon Roetman is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.