Game Notes: Soccer Visits No. 9 WSU, UW

Oregon heads north to face No. 9 WSU (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Washington (Sunday, 2 p.m.). Both games will be on Pac-12 Net.

KEY STORYLINES
• The 2018 season marks the 25th season in program history (1980-81; 1996-2018).
• The Ducks are No. 14 in this week's NCAA RPI, an all-time high for the program.
• Oregon's 7-1-1 start is the school's best since going 7-1-1 to open the 2009 season.
• The only statistical category that the Ducks rank in the national top 50 is goals against average (26th/0.54).
• Oregon has fallen behind in four of eight matches so far in 2018, but has a 2-1-1 record in those contests.
• Starting with WSU, the Ducks will play six-of-seven games against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams.
• Senior Marissa Everett, who has scored in three straight games, was named Pac-12 offensive player of the week on Sept. 18 after netting three goals. She tied the match with a PK against Portland before the Ducks went on to defeat the Pilots for the first time in the modern era. Everett then scored both goals in the Ducks 2-0 defeat of Idaho. She was the second Duck to earn Pac-12 POW honors. Emma Eddy won offensive POW on Sept. 4.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE
The Cougars, one of just two unbeaten and untied teams left nationally, are coming off an impressive 1-0 win at No. 8 UCLA last week to climb to No. 9 in the most recent coaches poll. Morgan Weaver leads WSU with six goals, while Maddy Haro is second in the conference with eight assists. Weaver also leads the Pac-12 in shots per game (5.0).

SCOUTING WASHINGTON
The Huskies dropped a 3-0 decision at No. 3 USC last week, but had been unbeaten in their previous four matches prior to the trip to Los Angeles. UW is third in the Pac-12 in saves per game (3.67) and leads the league in offsides calls (3.89 per game).

STREAK NOTES
Oregon's current five-game winning streak is tied for fourth-longest in school history. It is the longest since the Ducks won six in a row in 2009. The Ducks six-match unbeaten streak is tied for the seventh-best in program history.

DUCKS POST ANOTHER SOLID N-C RECORD UNDER MERTZ
Oregon's 7-1-1 record is the best of the Kat Mertz era. The Ducks were last 7-1-1 to open the 2009 season.

COMEBACK DUCKS
Oregon has fallen behind in four of its first eight matches, but has rebounded to post a 2-1-1 record in those contests. The Ducks fell behind Stony Brook in the season-opener, 1-0, but came back for a 2-1 win. The next week, Oregon fell behind No. 18 Kansas, 1-0, but got the equalizer in the 84th minute to earn a 1-1 tie. Most recently, the Ducks trailed Portland 1-0 in the 54th minute but scored twice in the final 30 minutes for an historic 2-1 win (see next note). That's a dramatic turnaround from last season when the Ducks went 0-10 when opponents scored first.

DUCKS SOLVE PORTLAND JINX
For the first time in the modern era, the Ducks defeated Portland 2-1 Sept. 14 at Portland. Oregon hand been 0-16 against the Pilots since the program was restored to the varsity level in 1996. Oregon did defeat Portland twice during the 1980 season.

EVERETT EARNS PAC-12 POW
Oregon senior forward Marissa Everett was named Pac-12 offensive player of the week Sept. 18 after scoring three goals to lead the Ducks to victories over Portland and Idaho. Everett tied the Portland game at 1-1 on a penalty kick in the 60th minute, before teammate Chardonnay Curran scored the game-winner in the 79th minute. The Ducks defeated Portland for the first time since the soccer program was restored to the varsity level in 1996. The Ducks were 0-16 against the Pilots heading into Friday's match. Everett then scored both goals in Oregon's 2-0 defeat of Idaho on Sunday. She scored the game-winner in the 11th minute and got her second goal of the match in the 35th minute.

PAC-12 POW EDDY LEADS DUCKS IN WEEK 3
Junior forward Emma Eddy was named Pac-12 offensive player of the week (Sept. 4) after scoring three goals to lead the Ducks to victories over Dartmouth and Gonzaga. Eddy scored the second goal of the Ducks' 2-0 win against the Big Green on Aug. 31 and had both scores in Oregon's 2-0 win over Gonzaga on Sept. 4.

EDDY, EVERETT JOIN ELITE COMPANY
Marissa Everett and Emma Eddy became just the fifth and sixth Ducks in program history to score a goal in three consecutive games. Everett has scored in each of the Ducks' last three games (Portland, Idaho and Utah). Eddy found the net against Kansas, Dartmouth and Gonzaga. They joined a couple of UO Hall of Famers on that list - Nicole Garbin and Michele Potestio - as well as Erin Anderson and Jen Stoltenberg, the last Duck to score in three straight matches prior to this season (2010).

PAC-12 LEADERS
Goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir is second in the Pac-12 with five shutouts and is 20th nationally. She also ranks seventh in the conference and 31st nationally in goals against average (0.54).

BACK LINE SHINES
The only statistical category where Oregon ranks among the nation's top-50 teams is goals against average (0.54, 26th). Credit for that not only goes to goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir, but also to Oregon's starting back line of Alyssa Hinojosa, Hannah Taylor, Jazmin Jackmon and Mia Palmer and subs Brianne Parsons, Jordan Wormdahl and Chai Cortez. The Ducks are shutting down opponents by allowing only 3.0 shots on goal per game, and only three times has Hinriksdottir had to make more than two saves in a game. The starting back line was particularly impressive in the 2-0 win over Gonzaga. Because of injuries to Parsons, Wormdahl and Cortez, the Ducks had no defensive substitutes available and the four defenders each played all 90 minutes. Hinojosa has played every minute so far this season.

EFFICIENT EVERETT
Three-quarters of senior Marissa Everett's shot attempts have been on frame. Of her 12 strikes, six have found the net and another three were saved.

HASENAUER HELPERS
Zoe Hasenauer has moved into the team lead in assists with four. The freshman who had 30 assists for her club team last year has recorded an assist in four of the Ducks' last five matches.

HARDY HELPERS
Sophomore Eden Hardy had both of the assists in Oregon's come-from-behind win against Stony Brook. Her 38th minute shot against the Sea Wolves deflected to Marissa Everett, who scored to tie the game. In the 64th minute, Hardy sent a cross in from the right corner and connected with Emma Eddy, who one-timed home the game-winner.

FAWCETT FIXTURE
Much like she did last season, senior Kyra Fawcett again made an immediate impact as a late-game sub. Just one minute after entering the Aug. 26 Kansas match, Fawcett found Emma Eddy on a cross up the field that Eddy finished to tie the match in the 84th minute. The Ducks and the 18th-ranked Jayhawks ended in a 1-1 tie.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TALK
Oregon is 2-0 versus teams that qualified for the 2017 NCAA Tournament after defeating Stony Brook (2-1) and Clemson (1-0). Those were the first of nine NCAA Tournament teams on the Ducks' 2018 schedule. The rest include Washington State, Stanford, California, Colorado, UCLA, USC and Arizona.

EVERETT, FAWCETT MOVE UP OFFENSIVE CAREER LISTS
Seniors Marissa Everett and Kyra Fawcett have made their way into a number of UO offensive career top-10 lists. Everett is third in game-winning goals (9), sixth in goals (16), fifth in points (42, 16 goals, 10 assists), eighth in assists (10) and sixth in shots (131). Fawcett is seventh in game-winning goals (5), ninth in goals (12) and 10th in points (27, 12 goals, 3 assists).

HINRIKSDOTTIR CLIMBING GOALKEEPER CAREER LISTS
Senior Halla Hinriksdottir is currently ranked third in UO career wins (22) and is third in shutouts (14). She is just three wins shy of the UO career record. She is also sixth in saves (160).

SWEATMAN, JAMAICA EARN CONCACAF GOLD CUP BERTH
UO alum Marlo Sweatman and Team Jamaica have qualified for the 2018 CONCACAF Gold Cup Tournament next month in Texas and North Carolina. Canada is the top seed in the group with Cuba and Costa Rica also joining Jamaica. Their first game is Oct. 5 vs. Canada. The top two from this group advance to the CONCACAF semifinals. The top three teams from the Gold Cup earn bids to the 2019 World Cup, with the fourth-place team sent to a playoff with Argentina for the final bid from the Americas. Sweatman and Jamaica advanced by defeating Antigua and Barbuda (9-0), Bermuda (4-0), Trinidad & Tobago (4-1) and Cuba (6-1) in late August to win the Caribbean qualifying final stage. Sweatman scored two goals in the Reggae Girlz' victory over Antigua and Barbuda.