Inside the tightly-knit confines of Papé Field, there’s one thing that sticks out about lacrosse head coach Jessica Drummond’s Ducks: They are loud.
Loud when they are winning big, loud when they are losing and loud pretty much any time there’s a chance to have their voices heard.
“Energy is just something our team thrives off of,” junior attacker Riley Taylor said. “We have crazy energy, whether it’s walking on campus, in the classroom or in the treatment center … you’ll always know when women’s lacrosse is around.”
It’s just different for these Ducks (5-1), and Taylor — who has played everywhere from Upstate New York to boarding school in Florida, from Indianapolis to here in Eugene — would know.
“It’s 100% different,” Taylor said. “The vibes and energy that we have on this team just cannot be topped … just totally different.”
Transferring to Eugene after a Division II Championship with the University of Indianapolis, Taylor said a warm welcome and immediate connection forged with alumnus Sam Brescia and Logan Gierke on an official visit were the main reasons for her ending up in Eugene.
Now fully settled in, Taylor is fully hitting her stride on and off the field. When Drummond and Anna Simmons were asked who the loudest on the team was, they didn’t hesitate to name Taylor, and, contrary to most athlete’s intuition, Taylor had no hesitation either.
“I do have to agree with them,” she said with a laugh.
From the occasional “worm” dance and other crazy celebrations, fans will never know what they will see from Taylor and the rest of the Oregon bench at games.
“They are kind of just in the moment, but if we don’t have one planned you can almost always find Ava [Sperling] dancing on the sidelines,” Taylor said. “This year we incorporated goal songs and in our house, we are pretty obsessed with Jersey Shore — so my goal song is the Jersey Shore theme and sometimes you hear people screaming quotes from Jersey Shore at games.”
Although settled in now, the end of her sophomore season came with even more change in Taylor’s career with Drummond’s arrival. But, as Taylor explained, Drummond’s return to Eugene was fluid.
“She came in with a lot of messages for how she wanted the team to be,” Taylor said of Drummond. “The biggest one was team first.”
That same motto is preached in programs around the country, but in Eugene it means more. Few coaches talk more about “connection and togetherness” than Drummond. It’s trait she likely picked up during her tenure as a player at the university from 2009-2012.
“We have so much energy,” Drummond said after the team’s opening win over Youngstown State. “Everyone is a contributor on this team, whether you’re in the game or on the sideline, it’s always going to be a team win. Having that sideline be so hype and so engaged is always huge.”
Both Drummond and Taylor have spoken at length about the connection between the Ducks. A big part of that is due to upperclassmen sharing two next-door houses where teammates bond, eat together and are known to throw the occasional “Bachelor watch party,” per Taylor.
That connection has been instrumental in the Ducks’ success. Oregon matched the best start in program history, beginning the season 4-0 and outscoring opponents by 36 goals in that span.
A mid-season hiccup came in the form of a gut-punch loss 15-7 to No. 22 Rutgers, but Drummond’s squad immediately responded with an emphatic 18-3 win over Merrimack. One more non-conference game remains, and Taylor is confident Oregon’s early success will propel them forward.
“The other [Pac-12] teams, I don’t think they know what’s coming from us,” Taylor said. “It’s our last year in the Pac, and we’re going to make it our year. This is our year, we are going to come out with a win, I have a really strong feeling about it.”
And if the results aren’t going their way, Taylor and the Ducks are still playing their childhood game, and they’ll always remember to have fun regardless of the score.
“I’m never not having fun on the lacrosse field,” Taylor said. “Being surrounded by my teammates and coaches, we all get to do what we love and just have fun and we are so thankful.”
