University of Oregon
Saint Mary's
Stoltenberg, Ducks ?Own? Saint Mary?s
09/07/08 | Women's Soccer
EUGENE, Ore. ? The Oregon women's soccer team used a goal by Jen Stoltenberg and got an own goals from Saint Mary's to tally its second-straight victory on Sunday afternoon at Pape' Field, beating the Gaels 2-0.
Oregon improved to 3-2-0 with the win while Saint Mary's fell to 3-2-0 after winning three of its previous four games.
The Oregon attack kept the pressure off freshman keeper Cody Miles and the Duck defense, forcing the Gaels to commit an own goal just 23 seconds into competition. Allison Newton fired a shot that was knocked down, but when a Saint Mary's defender attempted to clear the ball to safety, it bounced off the back of one of her teammates and bounced into the net. It was the fastest recorded goal for the Ducks in program history.
The Oregon defense and Miles, who notched a season-high five saves, made sure the early goal turned into the game winner but that didn't stop the Duck offense from adding on another score.
After a Saint Mary's foul 10 yards in on their own side of the field, Danielle Sweeney placed a perfect free kick over the defense to a sprinting Stoltenberg, who fired a shot on her first touch high into the back of the net. It was Stoltenberg's second goal of the season and second in as many games. The sophomore, with a pair of assists to go with her team-best two scores, now leads the Ducks with six points on the season.
“We needed these wins and we came out here and got them done,” Stoltenberg said about the Ducks' 2-0-0 weekend. “We battled back against Utah (on Friday night) and played tough again today versus Saint Mary's. It was a really good weekend for us.”
Head coach Tara Erickson echoed those sentiments.
“Getting two wins for our team is important and exciting,” she said. “We get to walk away from the weekend with a pair of wins and we scored a bunch of goals. I am pleased with the results.”
Oregon took 22 shots against the Gaels following its 25 shot outburst on Friday night against Utah. The Ducks have taken 89 shots this season while holding their opponents to just 50 attempts. Saint Mary's mustered just nine shot attempts on Sunday afternoon.
Miles had her toughest test yet in the young season in the 70th minute when the Gaels' Ashley Nied received a pass behind the Oregon defense and bore down on Miles one-on-one. The rookie from Salem, Ore., came out and met Nied near the top of the penalty box and deflected her shot attempt wide of the goal to keep Saint Mary's off the scoreboard.
Strong defense has always been the calling card of an Erickson led team but the fourth-year head coach says this year's team has added an additional identity.
“We are starting to define ourselves a little bit this season,” Erickson said. “We are seeing some really good goal scorers and we are seeing goals scored from a variety of players. We are not a one person team by any means.”
Oregon will now hit the road for three-straight games after concluding its four-game homestand with three victories. The Ducks will travel to Long Beach, Calif. next weekend to play both UC Riverside and Long Beach State and finish the road with a trip to in-state rival Portland State on Friday, Sept. 19.
NOTES: A total of 21 different Ducks saw playing time against Saint Mary's ... included in that group were four Ducks making either their team or season debuts ... Rianna Mansfield came into the game at midfield for the first time this season along with Tori Johnson, who saw her first action in the net this year ... freshmen Haley Wilson and Brittany Westrum made their Oregon premiers ... Danielle Sweeney, with two assists on the weekend, jumped from ninth to sixth on the Oregon all-time assists list, with nine in her career ... The three victories in the last four games are the most for an Oregon team in a single homestand since the Ducks went 3-1-1 to open the season in 2005, Erickson's first year at the helm ... prior to Oregon's first minute score on Sunday ? the Saint Mary's own goal, the fastest goal in program history was Kristi Morris' score was at the 1:00 mark against Oklahoma on Oct. 20, 1996 ... California scored a goal in 18 seconds against the Ducks in 2004, the only quicker score in any Oregon game.
