After a week of anticipation and preparation, the Oregon men’s lacrosse club team’s dream of a national title ended almost as quickly as it started.
Oregon, ranked as the 15th seed in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association National Tournament, fell to second-seeded Brigham Young 3-12 in the first round last Tuesday in Denver, Colo. The Ducks came into the game confident against a familiar opponent, losing to the Cougars earlier this year and in the national title game two seasons ago. However, even with its painful past against BYU, Oregon was comfortable being tagged as the underdog.
“We went in with the mentality of nothing to lose,” said senior long stick midfielder Cole Magnuson. “Work really hard and hopefully it’ll pay off.”
This mentality kept the young Ducks team tight with the Cougars until partway through the second period, where BYU began to open up an offensive storm. The Cougars out-shot the Ducks 47 to 18 during course of the game. Magnuson, a senior who received All-Conference second team honors, said the Ducks simply ran out of gas under the weather conditions. To their benefit, the experienced Cougar squad from nearby Provo, Utah was better adapted to the harsh altitude of the mile high city. To offset a hot temperature and higher altitude, the Ducks used a sideline oxygen canister throughout the game.
The Ducks were selected as the 15th seed through one of a select few at-large bids handed out by the MCLA. The young team, which only graduates three seniors, looks to return 34 players next season. Along with Magnuson, fellow senior midfielders Jon Matusiefsky and Will DeSiervo believe nothing but success awaits the Ducks as they look past this year’s tournament.
“We have a really tight team, no lack of chemistry or anything. (The Ducks) are going to have a really strong team next year and battle with Simon Fraser for the (Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League) title,” said DeSiervo, who joined Magnuson on the Second Team All-Conference list.
One thing is certain: The Ducks’ loss did not jolt any of their confidence as they begin to look past this year.
“We were disappointed; we were really confident. We played hard and gained a lot of good experience,” said Matusiefsky, who is also the team’s coordinator.
Matusiefsky garnered the highest recognition of any Duck player this season, earning Second Team All-America honors for his play.
With the majority of the team being underclassmen already loaded with experience, the future does look exciting for the men’s club team.
“We are going to be very good in the next couple of years. They are just going to build on this experience. We’ve really hit a turning a point as a team,” said Magnuson.
The Ducks may have come back from Denver last week disappointed, but not destroyed. If the Ducks have hit another turning point, as Magnuson believes, it may not be too long before another national tournament berth.
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