diff --git a/lib/webrat/core/elements/field.rb b/lib/webrat/core/elements/field.rb
index 359e69a..bcc46ef 100644
--- a/lib/webrat/core/elements/field.rb
+++ b/lib/webrat/core/elements/field.rb
@@ -365,11 +365,7 @@ module Webrat
     end
 
     def options
-      option_elements.map { |oe| SelectOption.new(@session, oe) }
-    end
-
-    def option_elements
-      Webrat::XML.css_search(@element, "option")
+      @options ||= SelectOption.load_all(@session, @element)
     end
 
   end
diff --git a/lib/webrat/core/elements/select_option.rb b/lib/webrat/core/elements/select_option.rb
index d10a153..161e6ba 100644
--- a/lib/webrat/core/elements/select_option.rb
+++ b/lib/webrat/core/elements/select_option.rb
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ require "webrat/core/elements/element"
 module Webrat
   class SelectOption < Element #:nodoc:
     
+    def self.xpath_search
+      ".//option"
+    end
+    
     def matches_text?(text)
       if text.is_a?(Regexp)
         Webrat::XML.inner_html(@element) =~ text