The opening draw.

Byline: Chris Hansen The Register-Guard

For the past several years, women's lacrosse has slowly infiltrated the western half of the country after being a fixture on the East Coast for more than a century.

Today, it makes its historic landing in Eugene.

Oregon and Stanford will debut Division I women's lacrosse in the Pacific Northwest when the two Pac-10 schools meet at noon on Pape Field. Admission is free.

The game will mark the official start of the Ducks' inaugural season and cap what has been a two-year building process since the school announced in February 2003 that lacrosse would be its ninth women's varsity sport.

"We've been waiting for this for a while," said UO coach Jen Larsen, who has been on the job for nearly 19 months. "We're energized and ready to hit the field."

Oregon is only the sixth Division I program west of the Mississippi River and just the third Pac-10 school to field a women's lacrosse team, along with Stanford and California. They join Denver, Saint Mary's and UC Davis in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference.

McMinnville's Linfield College and the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma have offered women's lacrosse at the Division III level in the Northwest.

"We're fighting to gain respect on the West Coast," said Larsen, who played at Virginia and then was an assistant coach at North Carolina before coming to Oregon. "I think the addition of Oregon lets people know that this sport is growing."

It certainly helps the cause, said Stanford coach Michelle Uhlfelder, who has been with the Cardinal for five seasons after several years as an assistant at Duke.

She was also a player at Maryland, which won seven straight NCAA titles from 1995-2001.

"We just see ourselves as matchsticks for a brushfire that's waiting to happen," said Uhlfelder, whose team finished 9-9 last season and was ranked as high as 14th nationally. "It's just a matter of time, but the momentum is there."

According to the NCAA, women's lacrosse grew by 115 percent during a 10-year period from 1990-01 to 2000-01. There are now 240 schools fielding teams at the Division I, II and III levels.

The sport is also rapidly growing at the high school level.

In Oregon, 17 schools offer girls lacrosse, including South Eugene, Sheldon and Thurston, which have club teams. In Washington, there are 25.

Of course, the prep scene still isn't prominent enough in the Northwest to produce an abundance of recruits - there are only 14 players from either Oregon or Washington out of approximately 150 in the MPSF, five of whom play for the Ducks - but it's a start.

"We're doing all that we can to get the education to the talent base that I know is here," Larsen said. "I played high school lacrosse for only two years, so I'm not convinced you have to have this huge background. If you are an athlete and you really have the passion for it, you really can take it on.

"The Pacific Northwest has some unbelievable athletes, and this sport can hide someone who is not a good athlete, but somebody who is really a fantastic athlete can really take this sport by storm. A high-school conditioned soccer player and a basketball point guard, with their eye for the game, is the perfect combination for a lacrosse player."

Uhlfelder agreed that though the West Coast lacks experienced lacrosse players, it makes up for it with quality athletes. She also noted that the recruiting scene has improved.

"It's still more of a national recruiting picture," Uhlfelder said. "It will be a while in terms of overall numbers, but we're seeing more and more programs pop up in our area, and enrollment at our summer camp has tripled."

There certainly isn't a lack of interest in the sport from UO fans, as players have been getting stopped by well-wishers wherever they go.

"I knew Eugene was going to be really supportive, but I had no idea it was going to be this way," freshman midfielder Jenny Browne said. "We can't walk down the street without people smiling at us, or telling us they can't wait to watch us play."

What they'll see when and if they come out is a sport built around finesse and speed, with an emphasis on stick work and passing.

The action is fast-paced, and the scoring can come quickly and often.

Other than the goalies, the athletes don't wear helmets or pads, though eye goggles are now required and some players choose to wear gloves.

In other words, it is not the bruising, smash-mouth style of play found in men's lacrosse. That's not to say the women play with any less of an edge.

"We have an enjoyable team," Larsen said. "But once we get going, it's going to be fun to try and kick somebody's tail."