Club soccer breezes by its in-state opponents
■ Club men’s soccer crushed
both opponents over the
weekend, but club men’s
rugby fell just short of victory
By Jesse Thomas
for the Emerald
With the wind whipping hard
enough to flip over the goal twice,
the Oregon Club Sports men’s soc
cer team dominated Saturday, beat
ing Western Oregon, 4-1.
“We have been playing really
well all year,” coach and team cap
tain Ross Minkler said. “Our talent
this year is a lot better.”
After finishing off Western, the
team had yet another challenge
Sunday, competing against Mount
Hood Community College.
The Ducks, eager to capture anoth
er win, began the game in a huddle
with Minkler yelling, “Lets go 5-0!”
■ The Ducks have trouble
protecting their home ice
and fall to Montana twice
By Inge Scheve
for the Emerald
The Oregon Club Sports hockey
team dropped two more against
Montana last weekend, making their
losing streak five and counting.
Friday's game score was 7-5 and
Saturday's 9-2.
"Overall, their team was faster
than our team," Oregon captain
Tyler Shaffar said. "We were miss
ing two of our best guys and Satur
day we just played pretty crappy."
Despite a tiring bus ride from
After just seven minutes, Oregon
had scored their first goal, while Mt.
Hood had yet to take a shot. The
Ducks took a commanding 4-0 lead
and finished them off in the second
half, scoring four goals in the final
10 minutes for the 13-0 blowout
win.
The team
is currently
undefeated
at 5-0, and
plans to
keep the
momentum
going head
ing into the
National Tournament in Austin,
Texas, from Nov. 15-18, according
to sophomore forward Matt Tassos.
Compared to last season, the
team is much larger, as the Ducks
lost few players. Minkler men
tioned how these extra players will
help make sure that fatigue should
n’t play a role in nationals, as it has
in the years prior.
With only a few games left, and
Nationals approaching, the only
team left that can match Oregon’s
level of play is Oregon State, ac
cording to Minkler. The soccer Civil
War takes place Nov. 5, at Oregon
State.
“These are just preparatory
games for us until Nationals,” said
Tassos. “Last year, we went to the
quarterfinals and this year we want
to win it all.”
Rugby drops tough game
The Oregon Club Sports men’s
rugby team went head-to-head and
body-to-body — literally — Satur
day morning with Sacramento
State. The Ducks were defeated by
last year’s Division II National
Champions, 31-5.
“Nobody on our team came to
play today,” head coach Bob Snyder
said.
Sacramento had the lead of 25-5
in the second half, and although
Oregon’s defense tightened up, it
wasn’t enough for the win.
For the Ducks, they don’t have a
kicker and the team is rather young
as of now, so there is still learning
and growth to come.
“It’s a good learning experience
for the younger guys to play the bet
ter teams,” coordinator/player Will
Middleton said.
Also Saturday, the junior varsity
Oregon men’s rugby team compet
ed against Sacramento State’s jun
ior varsity team. Sacramento State
edged out the 18-15 victory.
“They were prepared to take the
field, and overall played a good
game,” said Snyder.
Snyder was also satisfied with
the results considering only one
member of the junior varsity team
had ever competed before.
The Ducks will compete against
conference rival Washington Satur
day in Seattle.
“We will win this game,” Middle
ton said. “We got a lot of things to
work on, but I think we can do it.”
The men have just three games
left this fall before spring play be
gins, and according to Snyder, the
one team to worry about is Oregon
State.
The four teams that make up the
league are Oregon, Oregon State,
Central Washington and Washing
ton. Each team plays each other
twice and the team with the best
record is crowned the Northwest
champion.
“I am sure we will contend for the
championship in the Northwest,”
Snyder said.
UO Hockey drops two frustrating games to Montana
Bozeman, the Grizzlies walked
away with 7-5 victory Friday in a
game Oregon could have come out
on the winning end. Montana ruled
the first period — scoring four
straight before Oregon’s Scott
Tedrick shoved the first puck in
past the Montana goalie. But the
Ducks stepped it up in the second
period, and cut the deficit to 5-2.
Tedrick helped trim Montana's
lead down to two in the third peri
od, but that would be the closest
Oregon would come before Mon
tana chewed them up.
For the Ducks, the worst was still
to come.
A fresh Montana team netted a 9-2
win Saturday night in a game Oregon
labels as one of the worst this season.
Montana entered the third period
with a commanding 8-0 lead. Ore
gon's Nathan Vogel saved the game
from becoming a shut-out with a
goal, and Steve Budke scored at the
buzzer for the Ducks’ second goal.
Defensive player Larry Platzke
found that the weekend showed lit
tle team effort, inspiration and team
intensity.
"There is one reason we come
out, and that is to win," said Platzke,
who was disappointed with the
play as much as the end results.
"I apologize to the fans," Shaffar
said. "They paid money to watch us
play and we didn't fulfill our part of
that bargain."
Shaffar mentioned how the team
morale is falling, and that it is evi
dent when watching the team play
on the ice.
"Especially the younger kids get re
ally down," said Shaffar, pointing to
the freshmen on the team. "They are
not focusing on what they need to do."
Platzke compared the losses to
those in Los Angeles the week be
fore. He pointed out that in L.A., al
though the team lost all three games
it played, it was constantly improv
ing and playing solid hockey.
"This [weekend] was as bad as it
can possibly get," Platzke said. "Af
ter this weekend, nobody has a safe
spot on the team."
Looking ahead, Shaffar and
Platzke agree that the Ducks badly
need a win against Lewis and Clark
next weekend.
Lewis and Clark is a new team to
the league, Shaffar said, who does
not know what to expect from them.
"But at this point we have to as
sume that any team is going to beat
us," he said.
A win against Lewis and Clark
would boost morale, although the
game is a non-conference one. That
boost will be dearly needed in Seattle
Nov. 17-18 when the Ducks face off
with conference rival Washington.
"We usually play well with UW,"
said Shaffar, revealing some opti
mism towards the rest of the season.
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