Ducks Fall 3-1 Against USC in Pac-12 Home Opener

Thursday, September 29

Eugene, Ore.

4:30 PM

University of Oregon

6-4-1, 0-2-0

USC

8-2-0, 2-0-0

USC

Oregon

09/29/16 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Erin Kunesh

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon women's soccer team fell 3-1 in the Pac-12 home opener Thursday night against No. 9 USC.

The Ducks' record moves to 6-4-1 on the season and 0-2-0 in Pac-12 play. USC is now 8-2-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the Pac-12.

Sophomore Taylor Kuroda's goal in the 76th minute snapped USC's six game shut-out streak.

How it Happened: USC scored the only goal of the first half in the 20th minute, as Morgan Andrews converted a penalty kick.

In the 46th minute, Sydney Sladek scored her third goal of the season after Leah Pruitt set-up a cross from 35-yards out to find Sladek at the top of the box.

Andrews lifted the Trojans to three goals on the night in the 47th minute, after her long strike from 28-yards out was fed up the field by Pruitt.

In the 76th minute, Kuroda scored her first goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Sofia Chambers. Junior Abby Morrow fired a corner kick for the Ducks and after the ball bounced around in the box, Chambers' header was deflected, allowing Kuroda to slide into the box and tap the ball over the line.

On the night, Oregon had 11 shots (six on goal) to USC's 14 shots (four on goal). The Ducks had two corner kicks, while the Trojans had three.

Redshirt senior Maryn Beutler added three shots for the Ducks, while junior Abby Morrow and sophomore Marissa Everett contributed two. Senior Ashlee Schulz, sophomore Kyra Fawcett, Kuroda and Chambers all added one.

In goal, junior goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir made one save. Her record moves to 2-3-0.

What it Means: The Ducks are now 6-4-1 on the season and 0-2-0 in the conference.

Kuroda's goal ended USC's six-game shut-out streak. The last team to score against the Trojans was Long Beach State, whose lone goal handed USC one of their two losses this season (Aug. 26).

Quotes: Head coach Kat Mertz -

On the goal…
"(Sofia) Chambers is a beast in the air. She did a great job there and really it's about getting the second ball. Very rarely do you see the first ball go in off a corner, so we just have to make sure we don't give up on the ball and I was proud they carried it through tonight."

On the positives that are taken away from this match…
"One of our goals this season has been to try and score on a corner kick, so I was really impressed that we were able to get a goal against a really good defensive team."

Looking Ahead: The Ducks will continue conference play at Papé Field on Sunday, as the team hosts No. 11 UCLA. First touch is set for 1:00 p.m. Sunday's match will be the Pink Game - the Ducks will wear Pink jerseys that will be auctioned off to raise proceeds for breast cancer awareness. Post-game, the Ducks will host a clinic with Top Soccer and the Special Olympics. Wear pink to the game and admission is $2.

Follow the Ducks: Follow all of the University of Oregon women's soccer action both on and off the field. Make sure to follow @OregonSoccer on Twitter and use the team's hashtag #Revolution. Also follow the team on Facebook by "liking" Oregon Women's Soccer and following Oregon Soccer on Instagram.

#GoDucks