Oregon Soccer Falls In The Desert

Arizona shut out Oregon in Tuscon on Friday night, 3-0. This young Ducks team has started with five or more freshmen six times, and the freshmen that started this game were Myra Schneider, Mia McSweeney, Lauren Kenny, Cameron Bourne, and Kristen Conti.

Head coach Graeme Abel has been emphasizing the need to score first and take control of the game, rather than fall behind and play catch-up. Scoring first has not happened for the Ducks yet in any game this season, and it didn’t happen on Friday, either, with the Wildcats scoring at the 13:11 mark.

“We are disappointed as a team in how we conceded the first goal,” said coach Abel. “We pride ourselves on how we defend the phases on set pieces.”

Oregon buckled down and played good defense through the half, but in the first minute following halftime, Arizona struck again.

Coach Abel said after the game that “Unfortunately conceding a goal so early in the second half was a killer for us. Credit to Arizona as they capitalized on those opportunities.”

The Wildcats scored again in the 61st minute.

Though a few got by, Maddie Goldberg had some impressive saves.

The Ducks didn’t give up, and although they did not have nearly the number of shots that Arizona had, they did have some shots that just did not go in.

Goldberg ended with 6 saves in the game.

Offensive production continues to be a thorn in Oregon’s side. The Ducks had eight total shots and two corner kicks, while the Wildcats had 25 shots and 8 corner kicks.

Oregon (0-7-2) occupies the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, and it’s difficult to prognosticate whether there is a Pac-12 team that they can defeat. The Ducks need offensive production that they have not been getting. Oregon’s next match is in Eugene on Thursday at Papé Field against #20 Colorado (8-2-0).