No. 7 SFU upsets No. 5 Oregon, 16-8
By Steve Kojima
(Photos By Tim Whitehead)
Burnaby, BC (April 5, 2008) – Want an unbiased analysis of the Oregon-SFU divisional match?
“SFU outplayed them in every facet of the game,” said SFU alumni Tim Whitehead. His extra jab, well, he can post that on the forums for your reading pleasure if he likes.
But he is right. SFU did out-play Oregon on Saturday, and walked away with a 16-8 victory over the Oregon Ducks.
Quarter scores were 2-2, 6-4, and 10-5. It is SFU’s first victory over Oregon since 2005.
“It was awesome to get that monkey off our back, for sure,” said Adam Foss (1g, 3a). “They threw that zone at us first. We managed to break it down and then they threw man-to-man and we were able to adjust.”
Foss was key in helping break down that Oregon defense. They had him driving from behind, and working a four man stack up-top. SFU would stretch the D with a skip pass high and then find room in the middle for easy mid-range shots. SFU also scored some pretty text-book fast-breaks on Saturday. Oregon goaltender Paul Swanson and SFU’s tender Dean Stewart couldn’t be faulted for many of their goals against.
“We had a great effort by our defense and our goalie, and we were able to execute on offense,” added Foss. “We’re satisfied today but we want to bring it home at the end of the year.”
Ben Johnson again controlled the X and give the Clan possession, allowing SFU to dominate the time of possession and limit Oregon opportunities. When the Ducks did have the ball, they aggressively attacked and got to the cage. They just didn’t have the ball enough, and too easily gave up possession on forced and unforced turnovers. SFU also delivered heavy hits.
“We’re just riding that high,” stated Foss, who’s team has now posted up-set victories over a number of ranked programs in 2008, including Sonoma and Lindenwood. “We’re executing really well and I couldn’t be happier right now.”
“I think the Sonoma win was a big game. It gave us a lot of confidence,” added SFU defender Calvin Castagner. SFU came into the game ranked No. 7 overall in the league, while Oregon was ranked at No. 5. The Ducks are looking to make their fifth straight trip to nationals this season, while the Clansmen are looking to get back to the big dance for the first time since 2004.
“I thought it was a great game for us,” added SFU co-head coach Brent Hoskins. “Guys were able to put their best effort together for all four quarters. I’m proud of the way our guys have been able to maintain their focus and really grow as a team. Today was a nice win for us to get after the last couple of seasons, but there’s still big games ahead of us this season.”
Oregon will look to rebound. They are dealing with some key injuries to two first-line midfielders and a defender, but you can tell there’s still a lot of talent on this team. They’re led offensively by Justin Blackmore (2g), Chad Loescher (2g), Will Desiervo (1g) and Brett Whyte (1g). And Swanson is as advertised.
“It was tough. We had a bunch of traveling issues last night and I don’t think we were that focused but they came out and played a good game,” said Whyte. “I don’t think our heads were into it. We weren’t playing like a team and like we know how we can play.”
“We’re going to meet these guys again in the PNCLL championship for sure, so we’ll wait for that,” added Whyte. “We’ve been going for the national championship the whole season, so that’s what we’re still focused on. We’re going to get to the playoffs. We’re going to finish out the season strong. We’ve still got BYU, we’ve got good teams to play. So we’re just going to keep growing and be ready for Dallas.”
Oregon head coach Ben Tiller agreed that the team can play better. “I think it was a lack of confidence coming in after a tough road trip. It took us fourteen hours to get here,” he said. “I just don’t think we recovered from that completely… And we lost all of our momentum plays.”
One of those momentum killers was when Oregon actually took the lead with a great dodge and finish by Loranger. The goal was erased for an illegal stick call and Oregon was assessed a three-minute non-releasable penalty. SFU’s Chris Tessarolo (5g) scored on the power. Oregon’s Desiervo still got that back with a great short-handed tally, beating two defenders, to tie it up at 3-3.
Oregon also scored just after the buzzer, taking away another one of their potential goals, and the half ended 6-4 SFU. Justin Blackmore scored right-handed coming around the left-side to trim the lead to 6-5 SFU to start the second half, before the Clan went on a four goal run – with tallies from Tessarolo, Russell Thomas (2g, 4a), Adam Foss and Ben Davis (4g, 1a) - to close out the third quarter 10-5 SFU. Whyte scored next. SFU then extended the lead to 13-6 before Oregon would score again.
Ben Towner (3g) tallied the game’s last goal for the 16-8 SFU win.
Bus Drivers for Hire
Oregon had a terrible time getting to Saturday’s game. They got to the boarder, O.K. But they weren’t allowed in. Their bus driver had a misdemeanor against him and wasn’t allowed to cross the boarder.
So the bus company sent another bus to pick Oregon up. That bus didn’t go to the right location to meet the guys, however, and it was a sign of things to come. Eventually, Oregon got on their new bus and arrived at their hotels around 2am.
I mentioned there’s more though, right? Instead of taking the guys to the fields on Saturday, Oregon’s bus driver actually took the team back to the boarder. It resulted in over a 30 minute delay to the start of the game.
Next Up
SFU hosts Oregon State on Sunday, Apr. 6 at 12pm at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex. The Beavers are fresh off a 14-12 victory over the University of Washington.
Oregon will play Washington at 12:30pm. Admission to both PNCLL games is free.
