R. Ashley Smith Emerald
Lacrosse goalie Louisa Oorsch, a freshman, is ‘so incredibly excited’ about playing in the U.S. championships this weekend.
Beyond her years
■ Freshman Louisa Dorsch has made an impact on the Ducks
this year and will now take her game to the national level
By Jesse Thomas
for the Emerald
She has played on a men’s
lacrosse team without pads.
She received MVP honors four
years in a row.
She has now been chosen to play
on the women’s national team.
She is freshman Louisa borsch,
goalie for the Oregon Club Sports
women’s lacrosse team.
Oregon traveled to Portland re
cently to compete in the Pacific
Northwest Lacrosse Association
Tournament. The Ducks did not
finish as desired amid the 30-de
gree weather with rain and hail, but
Dorsch tried out for the Northwest
National Team after the tournament
was over.
Along with 16 other players, she
was chosen for the team and will
travel to Allentown, Pa., this week
end to compete in the United States
Lacrosse Women’s Division Nation
al Tournament.
“I am so incredibly excited,”
Dorsch said.
Dorsch began the sport of
lacrosse in seventh grade, when
she attended a private school and it
was mandatory that everyone play
sports. From the beginning, she
knew lacrosse was for her.
“I had a blast doing it, and it was
just so much fun,” Dorsch said. “It
just clicked right away as my
sport.”
When she attended a public
school for eighth grade, there was
no women’s lacrosse team, so
Dorsch just tried out and played on
the men’s team. She enjoyed the ag
gressiveness, but she still remem
bers the bruises she received.
On her high school team, Dorsch
earned MVP honors all four years
and was a first-team all-star during
her junior year.
When Dorsch moved from Mary
land to be a Duck for college, she
realized how much the competi
tion level had changed. Her new
teammates, though, were grateful
for her talent and the potential she
possessed for improvement.
“Louisa is the most committed
member [of our teamj,” Oregon co
ordinator Terra Cloyes said. “She is
always early to practice, knows
what is going on and is the best
goalie I have ever had.”
“She is really good, and it’s im
pressive that she has played on
guys’ teams," Oregon sophomore
Kate Cody said.
With the regular season now
over for the Oregon women, Dorsch
will be playing on a team of high
caliber athletes and competing
against the best teams in the world
this weekend at Lehigh University.
“I think it is going to be really
tough,” said Dorsch, who will be
the coordinator for the Oregon
women’s lacrosse team next year.
On Saturday, the Northwest Na
tional Team will play three games
against Scotland, team one of the
Great Lakes and team two of the
Upper Atlantic. Dorsch knows the
competition will be steep, especial
ly since the sport is so popular on
the East Coast.
“She is going to do great,” said
Cloyes, who competed on the
women’s national team last year. “It
will bring her game up so much
and be a great experience for her.”
Of all the competitors on the na
tional team, Dorsch is currently an
ticipating being the only goalie,
and she plans to accept the new
challenge with open arms.
“I am expecting to hang in there
with the other teams,” Dorsch said.
“But the [goalie] position sucks be
cause you always feel like you just
lost the game.”
Dorsch will be playing at a level
she has never experienced and is
confident she can compete up to the
talent level of her new teammates.
These talented teammates will
be counting on Dorsch greatly, as
she will be the team’s only goalie,
but her fellow Ducks have no doubt
that she can meet and perhaps ex
ceed those expectations.
“Her skills are incredible,”
Cloyes said. “You can always count
on Louisa.”
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