Oregon midfielder Jen May couldn’t help but smile following the final game of the Ducks’ season Sunday.
And who could blame her?
The sophomore scored four goals to help the Ducks secure third place at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s conference tournament by defeating the California Golden Bears 9-8 on Sunday.
“It feels so good being in third place coming from fifth last year,” May said.
May, who was named to the MPSF All-Conference team along with teammate and sophomore Carrie Bateman last Thursday, finished with five total goals in the three-game tournament.
Her standout performance was one of many for Oregon in the tournament.
Attacker Jana Bradley led the team with eight total goals and goalkeeper Anna Poponyak recorded 31 total saves, including a key save against California on a free position shot with less than one minute remaining to help the Ducks preserve the 9-8 lead.
Poponyak and Bradley were named to the MPSF All-Tournament team.
“Oh my gosh. Anna came up huge and she’s been coming up huge all season and has not been recognized for it as much. I just want to give her props. She played phenomenal,” May said. “And Jana has been a spark all season long. She’s just been everywhere on the field.”
Sunday’s victory helps Oregon (10-9 overall) erase the taste of a 12-4 loss to California last Sunday, which ended the regular season and allowed the Bears to claim the third seed in the tournament.
The fourth-seeded Ducks opened the tournament with a dominating 19-8 victory against St. Mary’s on Friday.
Oregon quickly took control against the Gaels by scoring eight straight goals in one stretch and seven straight in another.
The Ducks led 13-3 at halftime thanks in large part to three first-half goals each from Bradley, Lindsay Killian and Alison Leiner. Bradley finished with a team-high four goals.
“This weekend I was just focusing on the last three games of our sophomore season, and I just wanted to go out there and perform, have fun and do it for our teammates,” Bradley said. “(The game) was a good confidence builder.”
Oregon’s fortunes turned in Saturday’s semifinal game against top-seeded Denver. The Pioneers outshot the Ducks 41-27 in the game including a 24-11 shot differential in the first half.
Denver scored four unanswered goals to take a 9-4 lead into halftime. MPSF Newcomer of the Year, Karen Morton, led Denver with four first-half goals and five for the game, while Stephanie Greenlees added four to help the Pioneers to the 14-6 victory.
The Ducks defense held MPSF Player of the Year Kristie Leggio scoreless and Poponyak recorded 17 saves in the losing effort.
Bradley again led the Ducks by scoring three goals – all in the first half.
“It was definitely disappointing,” Bradley said. “We just didn’t come out and play as well as they were prepared.”
The Ducks showed no lingering effects the next day against California in the consolation championship, securing the 9-8 victory against the Bears and a third-place finish.
The game featured four ties, and the Ducks found themselves with a two-goal deficit on three separate occasions but found a way to win.
Back-to-back goals by May tied the score at 4-4 heading into halftime, and Oregon used another rally in the second half to take the lead.
Trailing 7-5, Alison Leiner started a string of four straight goals for the Ducks, capped by a free position goal from attacker Erin Gaebe to give Oregon a 9-7 lead with 8:37 to play.
California’s Laura Cavallo cut the deficit to one with her third goal of the day at the 6:26 mark, but the Duck defense turned away the Bears’ attack including in the final minute of play when Poponyak denied California’s Liz Reifsnyder on a free position shot.
“We have had a grudge against Cal since we didn’t play as well against them last week, so we really had our hearts in this game,” said Poponyak, who finished with 12 total saves in the game. “We were just ready to kick some butt today.”
Leiner (two goals), Bradley, Gaebe and Killian rounded the rest of the scoring for Oregon, which won despite being outshot 32-26 in the game.
“I’m very proud. Everybody stepped up today,” Oregon coach Jen Larsen said. “To end the season with a win is a great thing. To have it be over Cal … is just unbelievable for us.”
Oregon, at 10-9, finishes the season with its first winning record. The Ducks finished 6-11 last year. Oregon returns all 23 of its players next season after a roster composed of freshmen and sophomores this season.
“It’s just endless opportunity for us,” May said. “I’m just so excited … We’re going to be at the top one of these days and it’s going to feel good.”
Second-seeded Stanford claimed the overall tournament championship by defeating Denver 12-6 on Sunday.

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