Road Trip Continues at NAU and Grand Canyon

Thursday, August 31

Flagstaff, AZ

7:00 PM

University of Oregon

Northern Arizona

Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com

08/29/23 | Women's Soccer

Week 3 - NAU & Grand Canyon

Oregon's four-match road trip ends with a trip to Arizona to face Northern Arizona on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Grand Canyon on Sunday (1 p.m.). Both matches will be live streamed on ESPN+.

ON THE PITCH
• The Ducks defeated NAU 4-2 during the 2021 season in the only prior meeting between the two schools. That match produced a rare goalkeeper assist. This will be Oregon's first game against Grand Canyon.
• The match against Big Sky Conference preseason favorite Northern Arizona will be Oregon's third straight contest against the team picked to win its respective league. Last week the Ducks faced the preseason favorites of the SEC (Arkansas) and the Missouri Valley (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.
• 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.
• In its last match at Missouri State, Oregon started seven freshmen - Livvy Moore, Myra Schneider, Mia McSweeney, Kristen Conti, Cameron Bourne, Lauren Kenny and Ella Osmussen.
• Oregon returns Pac-12 all-freshman forward Ajanae Respass, who led the team with 4 goals and 10 points last season.

LAST TIME VERSUS NAU: A GOALIE ASSIST
Maddy Goldberg not only earned her first career win the last time Oregon faced Northern Arizona, but she also became just the third goalkeeper in program history to record an assist. Less than a minute into the match, Goldberg sent a goal kick up field to Zoe Hasenauer, who chipped the ball to Eden Hardy as she ran past the last NAU defender. Hardy dribbled the ball to goal and scored just :38 into the match. Kaitlyn Paculba also scored in the Ducks' 4-2 win against the Lumberjacks Aug. 29, 2021.

WEEK 2: A GOLDBERG SHUTOUT AND SEVEN FRESHMEN START
Maddy Goldberg made a career-high eight saves to earn her first career shutout as Oregon and Missouri State played to a 0-0 tie Aug. 27 in Springfield, Mo. Goldberg had a highlight reel save in each half to keep Missouri State out of the net, while the attack for Oregon built throughout the second half and nearly produced a goal as the Ducks fired six shots at the Bears' net in the final 11 minutes of the match. Trinity Morales had an open look at the left side of the net in the 80th minute, but her shot was blocked by a defender. Kaitlyn Paculba raced down the right side and fired at close range in the 84th minute and Ajanae Respass followed with a shot in the box in the 85th minute, but both attempts were saved by Day. The Ducks' last look came in the 88th minute when Anna Phillips got her head on a corner kick, but couldn't quite get enough momentum on her shot to make it past Day. The Ducks started seven freshmen against the Bears. Earlier in the week, Oregon dropped a 4-0 decision at No. 10 Arkansas. The Ducks fell behind early, but played the preseason SEC favorites to a draw in the second half.

WEEK 1: GOLDBERG, FRESHMEN CLASS SET PACE VS. BAYLOR
Oregon got a strong performance in goal and the program's talented freshman class got its first taste of collegiate action, but ultimately the Ducks dropped their 2023 season opener at Papé Field to Baylor, 2-0, on Aug. 18. Making her first appearance since 2021, Maddy Goldberg had seven saves. She helped keep the game scoreless into the second half, until the Bears broke through with goals in the 66th and 74th minutes. Goldberg made her first start since Sept. 3, 2021, having redshirted the 2022 season behind Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year Leah Freeman. More than half of Oregon's 15-player freshman class played against Baylor, including four starters, and the class provided all five of the Ducks' shots in the match. The eight freshmen who made their Oregon debuts Thursday night were starters Mia McSweeney, Cameron Bourne, Myra Schneider and Kristen Conti, and reserves Grace Mensah, Ryann Reynolds, Lauren Kenny and Ella Osmussen. Additionally, both Callan Harrington and Livvy Moore returned to the field for the first time since being injured early last season.

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).