Oregon Dominates North Texas to Protect Undefeated Streak

Sunday, September 4

Eugene, Ore.

1:00 PM

University of Oregon

5-0-1

North Texas

4-1-1

North Texas

Oregon

Oregon Dominates North Texas to Protect Undefeated Streak

09/04/16 | Women's Soccer

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By: Erin Kunesh

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon soccer team defeated the Mean Green out of North Texas 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Papé Field to continue the undefeated streak of 2016.

The team record moves to 5-0-1, as the Ducks snapped North Texas' 2016 undefeated record in the process.

This is Oregon's best start since 1981 - an AIAW National Tournament team year - when the Ducks were undefeated through their first 14 games. Members of that team were in attendance for the two wins at Papé Field this weekend.

How it Happened: Following a scoreless 45 minutes, Oregon emerged after the half to score three goals.

Freshman Jayne Lydiatt scored the game-winning goal - the second of her collegiate career and first at Papé Field - in the 52nd minute off an assist from senior Ashlee Schulz. Schulz fed the ball up the slot and Lydiatt was able to dribble around the keeper to find the back of the net. Schulz is now tied with sophomore Bayley Bruner at three assists on the season to lead the squad.

In the 56th minute, junior Mia Costa fired a shot from the right corner that deflected off a defender into the box to bring the score to 2-0, Ducks. The goal was Costa's second of the season.

For the final goal of the match, junior Abby Morrow served a perfect cross to sophomore Marissa Everett, who tapped in a point-blank shot in the 70th minute. The goal is a season first for Everett.

Oregon dominated possession and attempts, as the Ducks tallied 25 shots (12 on goal) to North Texas' four attempts (none on goal). The Ducks earned seven corner kicks, while the Mean Green didn't have any throughout the match.

Freshman Jessica Yu fired an impressive six shots (four on goal) throughout the match to lead the team in attempts. Redshirt junior Caitlyn Wong and Lydiatt provided three for the Ducks, while redshirt senior Maryn Beutler, Bruner and junior Miranda Schulz all added two. Sophmore Kyra Fawcett, senior Marlo Sweatman, Morrow and sophomore Nicole Seaman all contributed one shot to the total.

No saves were needed in the Oregon goal, but the Ducks forced nine on North Texas' keeper, Brooke Bradley. Freshman Katelyn Carter came out in the second half, while junior Halla Hinriksdottir started in goal. Carter's record moves to 4-0-1.

What it Means: A 5-0-1 start is the best the program has had since the 1981 season. The victory is a statement win over North Texas, a team that went to the NCAA Tournament last season, as prior to today's matchup, the Mean Green also held an undefeated record.

With three goals added today, the Ducks have now scored 12 goals this season. Oregon didn't reach 12 goals last season until game 18 vs. Washington (Nov. 1, 2015) and scored 14 total.

Quotes: Head coach Kat Mertz -

Overall thoughts…
"Our girls' willingness to fight for the whole entire 90 minutes is so impressive. North Texas is a great team, they're highly regarded and they gave us a good fight. Instead of getting frustrated or complaining, we came out strong in the second half. We were able to put some fresh legs in there and let them run. Today's win was an overall team effort and I'm really happy with the performance."

On the goals scored…
"A big theme for us this year has been that goals come in bunches and recognizing that once we get one, we don't sit back and hope to win the game. Our mindset has been, let's go get another one and another one. I think the best way to defend is by attacking and we're seeing that relentless effort. We had some really good moments. We almost had a fourth with that beautiful shot by Miranda Schulz. She's been doing that in practice, so it's nice to see her get some confidence out there."

On next weekend…
"Irvine and Fullerton are good teams. Irvine is having a good year right now and Fullerton always wins their conference. For us to be on the road, we have to be able to take care of the little things in order to make the big things happen."

On the wins at home…
"The fans have been so awesome this year and have helped us protect Papé Field. Every game has been posing a different problem that we will face in the Pac-12 and so for us, it's just sharpening it up and having some fun in front of our own crowd. I'm happy we've been successful so far."

On conference play…
"I know we can compete and battle for 90 minutes. That is something we struggled to put together last year. We open up conference games this year with a bang - Stanford, USC, UCLA...but right now, we just have to look at it one game at a time and make sure we are as ready as we can when that part of the schedule arrives."

Jayne Lydiatt, Freshman, Midfielder

On being undefeated…
"It feels really good. We still have a lot of work to do, but it's been a lot of fun It's fun. It's good for us to feel good about the wins and celebrate, but then we have to get refocused and get back at it so we can continue to do well and keep our record. We have good, hard competition next weekend and then Pac-12 is going to be tough too. But, it definitely feels good to start off the season so strong."

On the second half offense…
"It's so much fun. That is the best part about soccer I think. We played super well and came out with a lot of energy. We came out in the second half with a new plan and I think we executed it pretty well."

Looking Ahead: Next week, the Ducks will take flight for the second road trip of the season next week, as they face UC Irvine on Sept. 9 and Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 11 in Fullerton, Calif.

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