Rams Start Road Trip Right; Beat Oregon15-6 In Penalty-Ridden Game
Eugene, OR
By Alex Smith
March 12, 2004
Colorado State started their six game road swing through the Pacific
Northwest with a road contest against the #10 Oregon Ducks on Friday night.
The weather was absolutely perfect for the 7:00 start time as the Rams were
greeted to Eugene, OR with some very unseasonably nice spring weather.
Colorado State was not as gracious to the host Ducks as the weather was to
them, however, and the Rams ran away with a 15-6 road victory.
Oregon played with intensity throughout the game, but the story of the day
was the CSU close defense, who held the Oregon attackmen to 0 points. Ryan
Price (Arapahoe HS, CO), Kellin Bershinsky (Fort Collins HS, CO), Michael
Greeson (East Grand Rapids, MI) and Adam Schnirel (Mt. Lebanon HS, PA) were
stellar on the defensive end, holding the Ducks to just 14 shots on goal.
Colorado State never trailed in the game, jumping out to an 8-1 first
quarter lead. During that time, the Rams scored two man down goals, one of
which was a coast to coast run by long stick midfielder Mark Plonkey (Golden
HS, CO).
Kelten Johnson (Bainbridge HS, WA) played another very good game at attack
for CSU, dropping six assists to go along with his two goals. Johnson led
all scorers with eight points and had his second consecutive game with over
five assists. Nick Stanitz-Harper (Eaglecrest HS, CO) had three goals in
the first quarter and finished with five goals and two assists.
At the half, the Rams led the game 11-3 and proceeded to put the game out of
reach with a 3-0 third quarter. Dave Clark (Cherry Creek HS, CO) was a
force again at the face-off ‘x’ by winning 13 of his 17 draws. Clark also
added a goal and an assist to a very solid effort. Oregon won the fourth
quarter 3-0, but by then, the Rams had already ended the Ducks’ chances.
Oregon was led by Josh Waldman, Julian Coffman and Danny Ernst, who each had
two points. Nate Cordova made 15 saves in net for the Ducks. The Ducks
presented a few difficult match-ups at the midfield, but could not convert
on all of their opportunities. Oregon committed 19 turnovers on the day and
could not recover from the early hole the Rams put them in.
The Rams will now face their biggest test of the season with an early
afternoon game against #4 Sonoma State. The Seawolves and the Rams have a
great inter-conference rivalry. The Rams won both contests last year on
their way to the National Championship, but the Seawolves won both games in
their 2002 National Championship season. Over the last five years, the Rams
and the Seawolves have met seven times and all seven games have been decided
by less than three goals. The Rams lead the recent series with Sonoma 4-3.
The game will be at 2:00 pm Pacific Time on the University of Oregon’s
campus.
Game Notes:
- Kelten Johnson’s 8 point effort is a team high this season.
- The Rams converted 4/7 man-up opportunities to Oregon’s 2/7.
- The Rams now lead the all-time series with the University of Oregon 2-0
after last year’s 17-8 victory.
- Twelve CSU players registered points in the victory.
Goals by Quarters:
CSU: 8 – 3 – 3 – 1 = 15
UO: 1 – 2 – 0 – 3 = 6
Goals:
CSU – Stanitz-Harper (5), Johnson (2), Clark, Koll, Plonkey, Robinson,
Murphy, Everett, Chorey, Bird
UO – Waldman and Coffman (2), Ernst, Nelson
Assists:
CSU – Johnson (6), Stanitz-Harper and Koll (2), Clark, Murphy, Stevens,
Reiss
UO – Ernst
Goaltenders:
CSU – Jokisch (45:00 minutes, 5 saves, 3 goals against), Fitzgerald (7:30
minutes, 1 saves, 3 goals against), Bisnette (7:30 minutes, 2 saves, 0 goals
against).
UO – Cordova (60:00 minutes, 15 saves, 15 goals against)
Face-Offs Won:
CSU – 15/23
UO – 8/23
Shots:
CSU – 46
UO – 38
Ground Balls:
CSU – 32
UO – 26
Extra Man:
CSU – 4/7
UO – 2/7
Penalties:
CSU – 10 for 7:30
UO – 7 for 5:30
Attendance: 425 |
