52At 150 years old, Oregon is the birthplace to dozens of legendary athletes and home to countless jaw-dropping sporting moments, and in 2005, the Ducks were able to make history yet again. It became the first University in the northwest to add a women’s lacrosse team to its winter varsity lineup.
“We’re going to bring the best we can to each game,” Oregon lacrosse coach Jen Larsen said about the upcoming season. “We’ve gotten over last season’s freshman year jitters and are continuing to gain experience, which has been our biggest thing so far.”
At the end of their first season, the Ducks finished fifth with a 6-11 record in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, a league that includes California, UC Davis, St. Mary’s, Denver, and Stanford.
Last season was a building year for the Ducks. The team was made up of mostly freshmen, now sophomores, who knew the game but not what or who to expect on the other end of the field, but that’s all history.
They began the season with a 19-6 home loss to Stanford and it wasn’t until nearly a month later that the Ducks picked up their first win, a 19-11 decision over Marist. Before the win, Oregon was 0-5 with three of those losses at home. Two days later, Oregon defeated St. Mary’s 19-6 before falling to another winless streak in its next four games. The Ducks won three out of their last four before losing in the second round in the MPSF Tournament.
Now it’s 2006 and the Ducks will kick off the new season Saturday against Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. Stanford is currently considered the MPSF powerhouse, but the Ducks are oozing with raw talent and a strong team camaraderie.
The young Ducks signed eight new recruits; six midfielders and two goal keepers, to join this season’s action. The newest Ducks are expected to help tighten up Oregon’s transition and defensive game. These women were recruited from all over the nation as four are from Maryland and the others are from Massachusetts, Michigan, Colorado and California.
“In practice we’ve added new offenses and also worked on executing different intensities of defense,” Larsen said. “There is a huge advantage to being able to play with multiple levels of defense.”
Throughout the season the Ducks will have the opportunity to showcase their talent against some of the top teams in the nation, including North Carolina on Feb. 18 in Beaverton. Oregon is also scheduled to play against Ohio, Vermont, Davidson and Longwood in Virginia, and Johns Hopkins in Hawaii.
While the lacrosse season is barely under way, Jen May, Kate Fleming, Theresa Waldron and freshmen Alicia Burkhart and Ilsa van den Berg have already stepped up into the leader positions. May, Fleming, and Burkhart are all midfielders while Waldron and van den Berg are attackers.
“This season we will focus on being tenacious and building a back bone,” Larsen said. “We’re going to lead a second class and really build this program while also incorporating the freshman during the games.”
The starting time to Saturday’s season starter is 1 p.m. at Stanford’s home field. The Ducks first home match is March 3 against St. Mary’s at 7 p.m.