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Sit down...take a load off your feet...with an ODE
Oregon’s men’s lacrosse team
is busily carving itself a niche
Emerald File Photo
By KEVIN LANDSKRONER
Nestled away in a patch of
grass behind Hayward Field
lies the practice field of the
Oregon men’s lacrosse team.
In many ways, that rather
isolated field epitomizes the
relative obscurity that the
men’s lacrosse team dwells in
compared with the football,
basketball, and track teams at
Oregon.
But men’s lacrosse is begin
ning to make its own mark at
Oregon.
Last month, the Ducks pack
ed their sticks and helmets
and road tripped to Portland,
site of the Pacific Northwest
Lacrosse Association
Tournament.
And by the time the tourna
ment ended, the Ducks had
taken the B bracket
championship.
“At first I didn’t think we
could win it all but I knew we
could hang with most of the
teams,” recalls Oregon
freshman Chris Kotchik. “We
had beaten Western
Washington before (the team
the Ducks faced in the cham
pionship game) and when we
faced them in the champion
ship we had the edge.”
The Ducks downed the
University of Washington 9-5
in their opening game, then
disposed of Whitworth Col
lege of Spokane 7-2, before
knocking off Western
Washington 6-5 for the B
bracket title.
“We were heavy underdogs
coming into the tournament
and a lot of teams were sur
prised to still see us in it,”
says Dan Jensen, a senior
defenseman who also doubles
as the team’s administrative
and financial manager.
So what makes a quality
lacrosse player, which Oregon
seems to be cultivating quite
successfully?
“A lot of it is mental,” says
Jensen. “There are a lot of
guys who think they're great
athletes and try to come out
and play but can’t use the
stick. Lacrosse is a game of
fundamentals and technique
and if you don’t have it you
might as well start playing
chess because you won’t sur
vive on the lacrosse field.”
Jensen points to Kotchik,
Jim Stallman, Pete Fields and
goalie K.C Hyatt as the key
players on the team.
“K.C. was a big surprise,”
Jensen says. “He transferred
from Ohio-Wesleyan just at
the time when we were look
ing for a goalie because the
guy we had at goalie was not
our regular guy. K.C. came by
and asked if we needed a
player and ever since he’s
been awesome.”
Jensen calls Kotchik “a
natural” on the field and also
points to Stallman, Fields,
Scott Piel, and Scrafford Orsor
as the backbone of the of
fense. “When we need goals,
those guys always produce,”
says Jensen.
If there was is word to sum
up Oregon’s lacrosse team,
according to Jensen, it’s
“tight.” “We’re like a machine.
We all work hard on the field
and party hard afterwards,”
says Jensen. “The closeness
on the team has helped us a
lot this season because I can
count on the guys showing up
for practice and playing tough
during the game.”
Lacrosse is in many ways
radically different from tradi
tional collegiate sports like
football or basketball.
“It’s a gentleman’s sport,”
says Jensen. “After the game,
instead of kicking the oppos
ing team off our field, we end
up slamming brews with them
and partying with them —
which is pretty unusual for a
varsity sport.”
Another contrast is the at
tire. Unlike football, where the
players are adorned in neck
and knee braces, padded
pants and air pressured
helmets, the lacrosse code of
ethics is simple.
“We don’t get into equip
ment,” says Jensen. The only
Continued on Page 8B