Ducks Open 2023 Season Thursday Versus Baylor

Thursday, August 17

Eugene, OR

5:00 PM

University of Oregon

Baylor

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Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

08/16/23 | Women's Soccer

Week 1 - Baylor

Oregon opens the 30th season of soccer by hosting Baylor Thursday at 5 p.m. at Papé Field (Pac-12 Network).

ON THE PITCH
• The Ducks will face the preseason favorites of the SEC (No. 8 Arkansas) and the Big Sky (Northern Arizona) during the nonconference schedule as well as defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Missouri State. In conference action, Oregon will play five straight matches against teams that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament: USC (Oct. 5), defending NCAA champion UCLA (Oct. 8), Arizona State (Oct. 13), Stanford (Oct. 19) and California (Oct. 22). The Ducks played the 11th-toughest schedule in the nation in 2022 according to the final NCAA RPI report.
• Oregon returns Pac-12 all-freshman forward Ajanae Respass, who led the team with 4 goals and 10 points last season.
• The Ducks also return starters Anna Phillips and Anna Emperador on defense and Alice Barbieri and Trinity Morales in the midfield. Phillips has started 37 of 38 games the last two seasons. Barbieri also has 37 caps the last two seasons. Morales had 6 points as a freshman (2G, 2A), while Emperador was one of two freshmen to play in all 19 matches in 2022.
• The Ducks are one of the youngest teams in the nation. Oregon's 29-player roster features 15 freshmen (10 true freshman, 5 RS-freshmen), 9 sophomores, 4 juniors, no seniors and 1 fifth-year player.
• Oregon will be looking to replace its all-time leader in assists (19), games played (92) and games started (90) in midfielder Zoe Hasenauer as well as its career leader in shutouts (18) and goals against average (1.05) in Leah Freeman. Hasenauer also finished her career third in shots (184) and seventh in points (41), while Freeman was fourth in saves (253).

LAST TIME VS. BAYLOR
Oregon's last meeting with Baylor (Sept. 12, 2021, Waco, Texas) produced one of the wildest finishes of the Graeme Abel era. The Ducks carried a 2-0 lead into the 81st minute after goals by Ally Cook ('7) and Kess Elmore ('60) but a red card issued to Lexi Romero in the 82nd minute left Oregon at a disadvantage. The Bears cut the lead to one, 2-1, less than a minute later and then scored the tying goal with :02 on the clock. The Ducks appeared to have won the match after Leah Freeman stopped a penalty kick in the final seconds, but Baylor was ruled to have scored on the rebound before the final horn went off. Oregon regrouped to prevent Baylor from scoring in extra time to preserve the 2-2 tie. The only other meeting between Oregon and Baylor also went to overtime, with the Bears prevailing 2-1 in a tournament at Texas A&M in 1997.

RECENT SUCCESS UNDER ABEL
In 2020 and 2021 under coach Graeme Abel, Oregon posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time in 40 years; 1980 (13-1-3) and 1981 (13-2-3). The Ducks' 9-4-6 2021 record was their best since 2006 (12-6-2). It was the fourth-best mark in program history (.632).

ABEL A TWO-TIME WORLD CUP CHAMPION
Graeme Abel, the Ducks' fourth head coach in the modern era (1996-present), has a pair of World Cup championships to his credit after serving as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Women's Soccer team (2015, 2019).

#PRODUCKS
Three Ducks are rostered in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) for the 2023 season. Chardonnay Curran has played in eight games with three starts in her second season with the Kansas City Current. Croix Soto has started eight times in 12 appearances in her rookie season with the Current. Another rookie, Chai Cortez, has played in one match for San Diego. Marissa Everett finished her fourth and final NWSL season with the Portland Thorns in 2022 and had one goal in 10 matches (four starts). Everett became the first Duck to win a NWSL championship when the Thorns defeated Kansas City, 2-0, in the 2022 championship match.