GAME NOTES: Soccer Opens 2019 Season

The 26th season of Oregon soccer opens with a road trip to the Golden State. The Ducks start with Fresno State on Thursday (7 p.m, Mountain West Net) followed by a stern test at No. 13 Santa Clara on Sunday (1 p.m., TheW.tv). The Broncos advanced to the NCAA Tournament's second round in 2018.

OPENING LINES
• The Ducks are coming off their best season in a decade after posting a 9-9-1 record in 2018.
• Oregon welcomes the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history to campus this fall. The 2019 recruiting class was ranked No. 17 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer, highlighted by top-100 national players Sakura Yoshida and Ally Cook.
• Duck firsts: UO alum Marlo Sweatman became the first Duck to play in the FIFA 2019 World Cup when Jamaica qualified for the first time in that country's history, Jazmin Jackmon became the first Duck to be drafted in the NWSL (Houston, 3rd round, 21st pick overall) and Marissa Everett became the first Duck to score in the NWSL when she found the net for the Portland Thorns.

SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs were 6-10-4 overall in 2018, but went 5-3-3 in Mountain West Conference play. Fresno returns its top three scorers from a year ago in Emma Chivers (five goals), Melissa Ellis (three goals) and Tori Nicolo (three goals). Like the Ducks, the Bulldogs will be breaking in a new goalkeeper this fall.

SCOUTING SANTA CLARA
The Broncos posted a 17-3-2 record in 2018 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to North Carolina State in a shootout. Santa Clara was 12-0-0 at home last fall. The high-scoring Broncos return four of their top five scorers from last season in Maddy Gonzalez (eight goals), Kelcie Hedge (seven goals), Kelsey Turnbow (seven goals) and Skylar Smith (six goals). Like the Ducks, Santa Clara will be breaking in a new goalkeeper this fall. The Broncos open the season Thursday against Texas A&M.

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS
Here's a look at the Ducks' top returning players for 2019:
Goals: Emma Eddy (6)
Assists: Zoe Hasenauer (5)
Saves: Katelyn Carter (2)
Minutes: Alyssa Hinojosa (1,764)

EXHIBITION RECAP
Ally Cook and Eden Hardy both scored to lead Oregon to a 2-1 victory over British Columbia in Aug. 17 an exhibition match at Pape' Field. Cook's goal came off a nice set up on a corner kick in the 27th minute. Sakura Yoshida started the series with a short pass from the right corner to Mia Palmer, who sent a perfect ball into the box. Cook then headed the ball over UBC goalkeeper Emily Moore from 13 yards out. In the 82nd minute, Jordan Wormdahl fed a perfectly-paced through ball into the middle of the box that Hardy ran on to and crossed into the net from 15 yards away. Cook and Wormdahl were aggressive on the offensive end, with Wormdahl firing off four shots and Cook three as the Ducks outshot the Thunderbirds 15-4. Oregon played all 10 freshmen, including three who started – Cook, Yoshida and Croix Soto. Redshirt senior forward Taylor Kuroda saw the field for the first time in nearly two years. She sat out the 2018 season with a knee injury suffered that spring. Against UBC, she entered the game as a substitute and ripped a shot that went just wide across the face of the net.

DUCKS COMING OFF BEST SEASON IN A DECADE
Oregon's 2018 season was the program's best in a decade. The Ducks' 9-9-1 record ended a run of nine consecutive losing seasons. It was Oregon's best record since going 9-9-2 in 2008.

IRON ALYSSA
Senior Alyssa Hinojosa played in every minute in 2018 (1764). In the last two years, the defender from Sylmar, Calif., has missed a grand total of 32 minutes of game action.

HARDY COLLECTING GWG
Junior forward Eden Hardy had three game-winning goals during the 2019 spring season, and she continued that trend by netting the game-winner in the 82nd minute of Oregon's exhibition against British Columbia on Aug. 17.

DUCKS WELCOME TOP FRESHMAN CLASS IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Oregon's 2019 recruiting class was ranked No. 17 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer. It is the first top-20 ranking for the Ducks' soccer program. Oregon's 2019 class includes two players ranked in the top 100 nationally, as well as two highly-regarded international players. Midfielder Sakura Yashida from Redmond, Wash., is the No. 66 recruit nationally according to Top Drawer, while forward Ally Cook (Coto de Caza, Calif.) is ranked No. 92. Top Drawer also recognized international signees Maya Hahn, a forward from New Zealand, and Caitlin Shaw, a midfielder from British Columbia, as potential impact players for the Ducks. "The Pac-12 program has nine additions confirmed for this year. While it's mostly domestic, if their international additions of Hahn (New Zealand) and Shaw (Canada) pay off, it could be big news for the next four years," wrote Top Drawer. The other five players in the class are Maggie Lacey (Midfielder, Central Point, Ore.), Lilli Rask (Forward, Tustin, Calif.), Jordan Snyder (Defender, Mercer Island, Wash.), Croix Soto (Defender, Pasadena, Calif.) and Sofia Vinas (Midfielder, Calabasas, Calif.). Penn State had the nation's top-ranked recruiting class. Other Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 25 included No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 USC, No. 10 California, No. 13 Stanford and No. 23 Arizona State.

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL RECYCLING
Oregon is known for being a green campus, but this takes repurposing to another level. The athletic department has doubled the candle wattage of the stadium lights at Pape' Filed with the addition of four new light towers that used to stand at historic Hayward Field. With Hayward Field undergoing a total reconstruction in advance of hosting the 2021 IAAF World Track & Field Championships, the athletic department was able to repurpose four of the light towers, which will make night games at Pape' Field brighter both in person and for those watching on television or online.

-GoDucks.com-