Oregon clears first national tournament hurdle

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Much like the Oregon men's basketball team, which was seeded third in the NCAA Tournament and beat a 14-seed in the first round, the No. 3 Oregon men's club lacrosse team defeated No. 14 Lindenwood (Mo.) 13-10 on Tuesday at the 2007 MCLA National Tournament in Frisco, Texas.

In similar fashion to the men's basketball team, the Ducks kept their composure from start to finish in a back-and-forth battle. Oregon eventually pulled away from its first-round opponent with the help of a freshman and a five-goal push late in the second half.

The Lions jumped out to a 2-0 advantage before Oregon senior Trevor Tesar and junior Josh Schane netted goals to even the score. After trading points, the Ducks went on a three-goal run to build a 6-3 lead at the 6:09 mark in the second period, beginning with a goal by senior scoring sensation Julian Coffman that gave Oregon the lead.

Freshman Justin Blackmore made an instant impact in his first national tournament. Blackmore nailed back-to-back goals to help strengthen Oregon's advantage during the scoring drive. He said he was excited - and a little nervous.

"It was cool to get out there and it is so much more intense because if you lose you're done," Blackmore said.

Coffman said Blackmore's effort was huge but not unexpected.

"No one was surprised by his performance," Coffman said. "He has a distinctive type of play because he is short and shifty."

The Ducks clinched a 7-4 lead at halftime. But trailing 8-5 with 10:46 in the third quarter, Lindenwood tied the game with a 3-0 run at the 5:21 mark of the period. The Ducks responded 21 seconds later when Tesar landed his second goal to ignite a five-goal run by Oregon, which included two from sophomore Clay Knope.

In the final minute, the Lions landed the match's last two scores to make it a more respectable final score.

Tesar, who coach Joe Kerwin said has been under the radar all year, added a game-high five points off three goals and two assists.

"One of the midfielders on our line always has a breakout game and today was my game," Tesar said.

Blackmore and Knope both netted three goals and added one assist each in the match. Coffman scored two goals and contributed an assist, while Austin Loranger scored a goal and recorded an assist.

Continued...

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