OREGON WLAX PREVIEW: The Ducks look to start Pac 12 play strong against the Cal Golden Bears

By Tayten Torgrimson

Oregon Lacrosse has completely turned around the program and the work has shown. This non-conference season, Oregon went 6-1, already eclipsing more wins than last season. Oregon has outscored its opponents 111 to 59. To close off non-conference play Oregon defeated Furman 18-7. On paper, Oregon should win the Pac-12 opener against Cal handily. Cal is coming into its final non-conference game against Butler with a 2-5 record. So far, Cal has scored 65 goals to its opponents’ 68.

Players to watch – Oregon:

Players to keep an eye on for Oregon are midfielder Anna Simmons, attacker Lauren Rismani and midfielder Morgan McCarthy. Rismani is the general of this team’s offense. Almost every play is run through either three of these players, all three have a “sense” of this game that Oregon hasn’t seen for a while. McCarthy was the star of last season’s team, scoring 37 goals. This season, McCarthy already has 22 goals, while Simmons has 23 and Rismani has nine goals, but 16 assists.

How Oregon can win this game:

The easy answer is speed. Oregon has a fast-paced offense, that scores as fast as possible and is always looking to draw a foul on the opponents. When Oregon is a woman-up, it has scored 16 goals. The other key to this game is its defense. Oregon has a defense that can be undisciplined, and to win in the Pac, this team must continue being disciplined. Overall, Oregon has 47 fouls, averaging about seven fouls a game. Yet, when the Ducks are a woman down, their defense steps up, allowing zero goals this season.

Players to watch – Cal:

If the Golden Bears are going to come into Eugene and leave with a win, Kennedy Mason and Kennedy Goss are the girls to do it. Mason is second on the team in goals and first in assists with 11 goals and five assists. About 72% of her shots are on goal and will be a challenge for goalies Cassidy Eckert and Thayer Hubbard to handle. The leading scorer for the Golden Bears is Goss, who has 12 goals on the season.

How Cal can win this game:

Containment. Cal must contain Oregon’s high-powered offense. Forcing the Ducks to take bad shots and then capitalizing on those shots will be key. Making someone else besides Simmons and McCarthy beat them will be the biggest part of containing the Ducks.

My Prediction:

I think Oregon will win this game easily. I think Cal will stay in the game through the first quarter, and then Oregon will flip the switch on and continue the dominance fans have come to expect this season. I believe Oregon will win 16-8.

Oregon SB Preview: Oregon Heads to Salt Lake City to Play the Utes

Oregon is ranked No. 24 coming off of a series win versus No. 19 California, and will now head to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Utes. Both the Ducks and the Utes are 14-9 coming into this series. This will be another tough matchup for Oregon.

Oregon:

The Ducks had a 2-1 series win last weekend against the Golden Bears, who had the best record in the Pac-12 going into conference play. Oregon bounced back and won the last two games of the series after losing the first one. The Ducks are ranked again after falling out last week, breaking their 59 week streak of being in the top 25. 

The pitching from the Ducks has stayed consistently really good. On the backs of Morgan Scott, Taylour Spencer, and Stevie Hansen, Oregon is averaging a 2.58 ERA and have struck out 91 batters. The Ducks defensively have had only nine errors on over 600 defensive attempts, while they have forced 26 errors from their opponents. 

Oregon’s offense has done a great job of getting runners on with a .381 on-base percentage. They have had 189 hits and 73 free bases. Kai Luschar has been on fire with a 1.038 OPS and a .474 batting average. Luschar’s batting average is second best in the Pac-12 and 19th best in the nation. Ariel Carlson has a .369 batting average with a 1.201 OPS and a team leading six home runs. 

Utah:

Last year Utah made the Women’s College World Series, and came into this season with high expectations. Utah went 14-6 in non conference play with wins over Wisconsin, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and San Diego State. They got swept by No. 16 UCLA in the first weekend of Pac-12 play. 

The Utes have two star pitchers in Sarah Ladd and Mariah Lopez. They have a 2.61 and a 2.79 ERA, respectively. Lopez is third in the Pac-12 in total strikeouts behind Taylor Tinsley of UCLA and Nijaree Canady of Stanford. Defensively they have had 27 errors on over 630 defensive plays, but have forced 35 errors. 

The Utes have two players batting over .440 with and have a team total of 206 hits. They are not a home run team though, only having nice total home runs. Haley Denning gets on base the most at a .500 OBP with a .488 batting percentage. Kaylah Nelsen has the most RBI’s on the team with 16, also having eight doubles on 26 hits. 

Predictions:

Oregon will win the series 2-1.