The road to the National Club Championships began on Saturday for the men’s Club water polo team, as the Ducks took first place in the University of Oregon Northwest Division Tournament, held at Amazon Pool.
Oregon officially began league play last weekend at the first-ever collegiate water polo tournament held in Eugene. The Ducks compiled a 3-1 record and took first place in the Pacific Northwest Division standings.
The final game of the tournament gave Oregon a chance to clinch its first-ever collegiate tournament win. Building a 10-3 lead against Western Washington in the first quarter, the entire Duck roster recorded playing time and contributed to Oregon’s 15-6 win and tournament title.
“We have a strong group of guys who have really good fundamentals,” coordinator George Slavich said. “Throughout the tournament, I think we improved quite a bit.”
On Sunday, the Ducks played their third game of the tournament against Washington State. At the end of the first quarter, Oregon led the Cougars 10-3. Slavich and Tom Leach led the team with three steals each and helped the Ducks to a 20-7 win over
the Cougars.
In Oregon’s second match of the day, the Ducks challenged No. 18 Washington. Oregon refocused its efforts on defense, which lead to 19 kick-outs and only 11 Husky goals off man-down situations. After a scoring barrage from both sides, Oregon beat Washington 19-16, giving the Ducks their first win of the season as well as their first-ever victory against
the Huskies.
“We were much more productive on offense than I thought we would be,” Slavich said.
In the first game of the tournament, Oregon found itself three goals behind in the first quarter against Oregon State. The absence of pressure defense by the Ducks allowed the Beavers to continuously score and come away with an 18-14 win.
“Our team started out nervous,” coach Stephen Hagerman said, “but as the weekend moved on, we were able to anticipate each other’s decisions.”
Road to regionals
After a week of tryouts and with only one practice under its belt, the Oregon women’s Club soccer team traveled to Portland on Sunday and beat Reed College 2-1in an exhibition match.
In the first half of play, both teams failed to capitalize on their chances in front of the net, and the score stood at 0-0 at halftime. Reed College scored the first goal in the second half and took its only lead of the game, 1-0.
Oregon’s Kim Stark quickly answered, scoring the Ducks’ first goal of the season. Minutes later, freshman midfielder Alisa Grant added another goal to give the Ducks the lead and their first win of the season, 2-1.
“We had trouble finishing and playing together at first, but we finally got two in the net,” midfielder Cassie Pruett said.
With 13 returning players and only six newcomers on the team, coach Tracy Vanderzanden said the win is a testament to how talented her players are this year.
“Our new players really add depth,” Vanderzanden said. “We really seemed to gel together today.”
The Ducks will travel to UC Davis to participate in a regional tournament Oct. 22-24 and will face teams from around the country.

Kirsten McEwen is a freelance
reporter for the Daily Emerald