Morrow's Goal Keeps the Ducks Undefeated in Historic Home Opener

Friday, August 26

Eugene, Ore.

4:30 PM

University of Oregon

2-0-1

Nebraska

2-1-0

Nebraska

Oregon

Morrow's Goal Keeps the Ducks Undefeated in Historic Home Opener

08/26/16 | Women's Soccer

Box Score UO-Texas Box

By: Erin Kunesh

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon Ducks soccer team defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Papé Field on Friday night, 1-0, to collect the program's first ever win over a Big Ten program.

The Ducks are now 2-0-1 on the season.

How it Happened: In the 63rd minute, junior Abby Morrow scored the lone goal of the night after connecting assists from senior Ashlee Schulz and sophomore Bayley Bruner.

Along with the goal being her first of the season, Morrow also provided the most shots for the Ducks (3) throughout the match.

Schulz has provided assists in back-to-back games and this marks Bruner's second assist on the season - she fed sophomore Kyra Fawcett's game winning goal vs. Hawaii.

The Cornhuskers put up a tough fight and pushed the Ducks to show up defensively. On the night, the Ducks tallied nine shots (six on goal) and Nebraska notched seven (five on goal). The Cornhuskers had two corner kick opportunities but were unable to capitalize in the box on both attempts.

Senior Maryn Beutler, sophomore Marissa Everett, junior Miranda Schulz, freshman Jessica Yu and Fawcett all provided one shot for the Green and Yellow.

Freshman Katelyn Carter impressed in goal and collected three clutch saves. Her record moves to 2-0-1. Junior Halla Hinriksdottir played the full first half and made two saves.

What it Means: Starting the season on an undefeated streak, the Ducks are backing up the team's new hashtag, #Revolution. Tonight's win is not only a historic non-conference match-up, but after opening the season with a win at home, the Ducks will have confidence that will carry over to Sunday's match vs. Stephen F. Austin and beyond.

Prior to tonight's match, Oregon's all-time series against Big Ten opponents was 0-5-0.

The last time the Ducks opened up at home with a win was in the 2014 season over Saint Mary's (Aug. 29, 2-0).

Quotes: Head coach Kat Mertz -

On tonight's win:
"It feels awesome. I'll definitely take it. Nebraska played really well and they are good at what they do. They have a great block of four in the midfield and they sit in quite nicely in the counter attack. That was something we prepared for and worked at all week and it helped us a lot tonight."

"Tonight's win doesn't do anything for us if we don't change our focus and prepare for Sunday. Stephen F. Austin continually wins their conference and they're a tough team. You're never quite sure what you're going to get on a Sunday, but we're taking it one game at a time, one practice at a time and one play at a time."

On what it means to defeat a Big Ten team for the first time:
"I think this is good for the Pac-12 as a whole. In these non-conference games, the Pac-12 wants to go out and protect the conference. For us to be able to contribute a win to that means a lot. In years past in games against Wisconsin, we were right there, but didn't quite lock it in. With us getting some great results on the road last week and coming in here with confidence tonight, we made it happen and it feels great."

On the Ducks' defense tonight:
"Our defensive mindset was to protect the counter attack. I thought our outside backs (sophomore Mia Costa and Schulz) did a fantastic job of reading those long service balls and applying the pressure we needed."

"You need to have players step-up especially on the protection and that isn't something that we've had in the past when the pressure gets going. We've been seeing players step-up along with following through on execution and it's paying off."

On substitutions:
"We certainly saw a lot of faces out there and we're trying to rotate people and get some fresh legs to makes those key plays. We have a good handle on our front three (Bruner, Fawcett and Everett) and they've been working really well together. The nice thing is that whenever we make any kind of substitution, the level keeps growing and getting better. We have depth and that's what you're looking for in a college soccer team. You need depth to be able to win on Sunday's and when you travel and have injuries.

Looking Ahead: Stephen F. Austin will travel to Eugene for a match-up this Sunday. The Ducks will continue their home stand when Boise State and North Texas travel to Eugene on Sept. 2 and Sept. 4 for the Oregon Nike Tournament.

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 Duck Women's Soccer and following Oregon Soccer on Instagram.

#GoDucks