The No. 3 Oregon club men’s lacrosse team was unable to earn its first MCLA Division A National title Saturday, losing 16-9 in the Championship game to No. 1 BYU in Frisco, Texas.
Junior attacker Josh Schane netted a team-high three goals in the Ducks’ first appearance in a championship match. The Ducks, however, needed more points and more stops against the Cougars, who ultimately rolled to their first title since 2000.
In the first period, the Ducks answered a four-goal run by BYU with a string of goals. Sophomore midfielder Cody Aldrich and Schane, who sent in the game’s first score, each nailed unassisted goals that set the score close at 4-3. The Cougars would soon pull away.
BYU rattled off six consecutive scores and shut out Oregon in the second period. At halftime, the Ducks trailed 10-3. Oregon managed six more goals, but it simply wasn’t enough against a determined Cougars squad.
Though it seemed to dictate the pace of the match, BYU could not create more separation in the third period, as both teams scored three goals apiece. Schane scored twice, both off of assists from junior attack Kevin Jewett, and senior attack Julian Coffman nailed his only goal in the quarter.
Oregon could not make a run in the fourth. Two of the Ducks’ three goals in the final period came in the last minute.
Sophomore attack Clay Knope added two goals in the match. Senior midfielder Trevor Tesar netted one goal and freshman attacker Justin Blackmore contributed a score.
BYU, which Oregon beat 8-7 earlier this year in Belmont, Calif., was able to clear the ball better than the Ducks for most of the game. Justin Hier had a match-high six points off three goals and three assists. Tyler Monteath added one goal and four assists and Ted Ferrin landed three goals.
To reach the championship game, the Ducks won in thrilling fashion on Friday in a semifinal match against No. 2 Colorado State University. The Rams led by as much as 7-2 in the third period, but Oregon rallied in the quarter and then took over in the fourth. With about three and a half minutes remaining in the game and down 8-7, Knope wrapped around the net and made a leaping shot that sent the battle into overtime. Aldrich, who had two goals and an assist, made perhaps one of the biggest shots of his life in extra minutes when he scored the winning goal.