Talk about a good omen.
Out of the four teams remaining in the 2007 MCLA Division A Tournament, the third-seeded Oregon men’s club lacrosse team has already defeated two of them this year.
The Ducks (19-2, 8-0 Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League) will face a familiar opponent in No. 2 Colorado State today after surviving the first two rounds of the tournament, which contained a field of 16.
In its fifth match of the regular season, Oregon beat the Rams 19-6 in Eugene amid a stretch of 11 consecutive wins. But it was Colorado State’s first match of the year, and it was nearly three months ago. Since then, the Rams have won 15 of their last 17 games, including a 14-0 victory against No. 10 Arizona State in the second round on Wednesday to set the stage for a rematch today.
Since losing to Arizona State 18-17 on March 27, the Ducks have won eight straight matches, including their first and second round matches, over Lindenwood (Mo.) and Minnesota-Duluth, in this year’s National Tournament to land a spot in the Final Four.
In other tournament action, No. 1 Brigham Young defeated No. 9 Boston College 11-3 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The Ducks had the Cougars’ number this year, too.
Oregon knocked BYU from its top ranking on March 2 in Belmont, Calif., beating the top-ranked Cougars 8-7. Senior Ryan Warren notched a team-high three points by scoring two goals and assisting another score. His two unassisted goals in the first five minutes of the second quarter helped provide the Ducks with their seventh win of the season.
In another semi-final game, No. 5 UC-Santa Barbara was nearly upset by Northeastern, a 13-seed Cinderella that upset No. 4 Michigan in the first round 15-4, on Wednesday. Santa Barbara held on to win 8-7 to advance and play BYU.
Oregon’s match against Colorado State will take place today at 6 p.m. PST in Frisco, Texas, at Pizza Hut Park. BYU will play UC-Santa Barbara at 3 p.m. PST. The Championship game will be played on Saturday at 5 p.m. PST.