Oregon women’s lacrosse still hasn’t won a Big Ten game, and now the 2026 season is over. The Ducks’ 2026 campaign ended almost identically to 2025, but last year didn’t end on an eight-game skid.

Oregon finished the season 6-10 and 0-8 in Big Ten play for the second straight season, but the losing streak it endured at the end of this year left the team with a slightly more negative feel going into the offseason. While the season saw senior midfielder Anna Simmons named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, Oregon failed to win its first Big Ten game in conference history.

Simmons’ ability to track back on defense and force turnovers from her midfield position often proved a crucial stopgap against strong offenses. Simmons’ 22 caused turnovers tied for No. 9 in the Big Ten, and her 27 ground balls tied for No. 11 in the Big Ten.

The Ducks just never generated enough offense to take down any of the superpowered rosters in the Big Ten, and scored double digits just once in conference play — the season finale against USC.

“I love seeing them have fun and joy,” head coach Jessica Drummond said after the USC game. “That’s what lacrosse is about. I’m so grateful for the seniors. I want to give a huge shoutout to them for pushing each other and ending so strongly. We had 10 goals against a Big Ten team, which is pretty cool to end on that.”

Drummond, in her third season with the team, is slightly closer to getting her recruits into the team rather than players that were brought onto the roster from previous coach Chelsea Hoffman. This will mean that Drummond will be able to start players that play her style of lacrosse primarily as well as continue to bring in talent from around the NCAA.

The only issue is that the rest of the Big Ten can also retool — with better resources at that — which means that Oregon isn’t part of any arms race going forward; it’s just looking to survive.

Oregon worked to play with more energy this season as well as execute on a high level in all facets of the game. In the non-conference section of the schedule, it did that. In a five-day stretch in March, the Ducks outscored their opponents, Delaware State University and Kent State University, by a combined 35-4. Largely due to outstanding defense, Oregon controlled each of these games from the opening draw and were able to suffocate opponents into long possessions, to no avail.

Oregon also displayed a slower, controlled offense in these contests, which led to more scoring chances that it created in the latter part of the season. The Ducks also were able to win more draws, something they didn’t do for the entirety of conference play.

Moving forward, Drummond’s ability to recruit and apply those players on the field could prove to be the catalyst for the future success of this program. As it stands, however, Oregon again looks for solutions in the offseason and will begin the search for the program’s first Big Ten victory next February.