One of Oregon’s most legitimizing moments during the MCLA National Championships in Frisco, Texas, came when senior Julian Coffman and his teammates looked up and saw themselves score in slow-motion instant replay on the giant video board inside Pizza Hut Park.
“I think that was huge,” Coffman, the PNCLL Division-A scoring leader, said. “It created a lot of excitement with the players and I’m sure the whole national tourney. How it was set up this year, it will make high school kids want to play in the MCLA. It is a legit way to play lacrosse.”
Exhausted, sore, bruised and glad to be home, the Oregon men’s club lacrosse team finally landed in Portland late Sunday night having nearly conquered the tournament. In its best season yet, the team did everything but win a national championship.
The Ducks’ loss to top-seeded BYU in the championship match last Saturday marked a disappointing end to a nearly perfect year. Coffman said he is now coming to terms with everything.
“I go back and forth between disappointment and not being too disappointed,” Coffman said. “I never thought we would be on that championship field, but there has to be a winner and loser.”
The squad’s accomplishments leading up to the final leaves little doubt that the Ducks deserved to be there.
Oregon (20-3, 6-0 Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League), seeded third in the MCLA Tournament, lost just two matches during the regular season. Before being outplayed by the Cougars and losing 16-9, the Ducks had never lost a game by more than a goal this year. They swept through the PNCLL Tournament and then climbed their way into the finals in the field of 16 teams at Nationals by beating three teams last week. Before stumbling in the battle against BYU, Oregon beat Lindenwood 13-10 in the first round, Minnesota-Duluth 10-8 in the second round and Colorado State 9-8 in the semifinals. The Ducks’ success in the tournament was unprecedented – they had never made it past the second round.
Coffman said the Ducks celebrated their success in the tournament after the loss to the Cougars. That’s when the chatter began to shift from the anticlimax of the finals match to all the things that went right.
“It was nice that we had such a huge win the night before and just to be proud of the win against Colorado State,” Coffman said. “We beat BYU the first time and they were obviously the better team this time around. It was just a bummer that it had to be at a National Championship. I think a lot of people have looked at it like this is just the start.”
The Ducks’ postseason push was carried by momentum established during the regular season. Oregon, which was ranked as high as first in the MCLA poll during the regular season, earned its first top seed in the MCLA A Division after upsetting Colorado State, Sonoma State and BYU. The Ducks were ranked No. 8 when they defeated their first four opponents in Eugene. Oregon ended the regular season 15-2 overall after suffering back-to-back losses to Colorado and Arizona State on the road and bouncing back to win its last four matches.
The Ducks, who were the top-ranked team in the PNCLL all season long, went on to win their fourth consecutive league title in Tacoma, Wash., with a 17-6 victory against No. 4 Boise State and a 22-7 win against No. 2 Simon Fraser in the PNCLL Championship match.
Afterward, 11 Ducks were named to the PNCLL All-Star Team and coach Joe Kerwin was given Coach of the Year honors.
Scott Miller, a senior midfielder, was received First-Team and Most Valuable Player honors. For a second straight year, Coffman was awarded First-Team and PNCLL Offensive Player of the Year honors. Attacker Clay Knope, midfielder Trevor Tesar, Todd Jolly, a senior defender who was also named the PNCLL Defensive Player of the Year, defender Andrew Vincent and goalkeeper Paul Swanson were all placed on the first team. Midfielders Ryan Warren and Cody Aldrich were awarded second-team honors.
Coffman said it is hard to realize the season is over, but he said he was happy to be a part of the Ducks’ run. More than anything, he was glad that his teammates got a chance to be a part of victorious season.
“Personally, I was very happy to be a part of that before I left because people last year didn’t get to experience anything like that,” Coffman said. “But I feel like I put in my time and my time is done.”