2008 Woodie Awards
Home > Sports
Even in defeat, Oregon made this year a winner
by Dan Jones | Freelance reporter |
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."
"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."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Dan Murphy
posted 5/23/07 @ 11:52 AM PST
As a former Duck Lax team member 1983-85 I am thrilled with where the program is now!
We had a couple of strong teams in the mid-80's and I often wonder how we would stack up against some of the teams that are competing in the new MCLA leagues. (Continued…)
john cavanaugh
posted 5/23/07 @ 3:51 PM PST
As a former U of O club lacrosse player (1980-83), it's great to see how far the program has come. We drove ourselves to games, supplied all our own equipment, had a co-ed team of ~30-50% first-year players, and loved every minute of it. (Continued…)
Post a Comment