Oregon vs. Western Washington was everything that it was cracked up to be with the Ducks completing their date with destiny and defeating the Western Washington Vikings 27-25. It was a thrilling back and forth game with Oregon barely holding on for the win. Oregon was carried by their upperclassmen with tries from Michael Colucci (‘22), Nick Laughlin (‘23), Jeremy Gunderson (‘23) and Wes Walters (‘23). 

The first few minutes Oregon was on their back foot. Luckily for Oregon these mistakes didn’t end up costing them and once they were locked in they were able to make a few line breaks but nothing substantial. After getting into Western Washington territory Oregon executed a maul and Colucci took the ball in for himself to give Oregon an early lead. 

In the 23rd minute Gunderson split the Western Washington defense and ran over the Western Washington fullback en route to a 60 meter try. Logan Ditner (‘22) converted the kick to put Oregon up by seven. Western Washington matched this score with a try of their own. 

In the second half the Ducks maintained their first half momentum. Laughlin got the second half scoring after catching a sweet offload from Reed Vabrey (‘23) who tapped the ball following a Western Washington Penalty. Following another try from Western Washington Oregon needed a cushion and found one when Brendan Quinn (‘23) hit a beautiful skip pass to Walters who took the ball 70 yards and burned the entire Western Washington team. This proved to be the game sealing score for Oregon. 

Unfortunately their postseason hopes are in doubt because they needed a 3 point win to ensure a postseason berth. They finish up their regular season at University of Washington this Saturday and hope to get an at-large bid from USA Rugby.