Ducks Close Out Season with Civil War Match Up in Corvallis
Fresh off an overtime win against Washington, the Oregon soccer team (5-13-0, 2-8-0) heads to Corvallis for the regular season finale against Oregon State (6-9-3, 2-8-0) Friday afternoon at 2 p.m.
TUNE IN
The Civil War contest will be shown live on the Pac-12 network and Pac-12 Oregon. Ann Schatz (Play by Play) and Tammy Blackburn (Analyst) will be on the call.
RECENT SERIES HISTORY
Over the last ten years, it’s been a battle between the Ducks and Beavers. OSU holds a slight advantage in victories, notching four to Oregon’s three and the teams have tied three times as well. However, a year ago it was UO that came out on top thanks to the go-ahead goal by Ashlee Schulz in the 84th minute.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The Ducks are coming off a huge overtime victory over Washington and will look to carry over that momentum into Friday’s contest. The Beavers are much improved this year, sporting a 6-9-3 overall record after not winning a single match last season. OSU is on a four-match losing streak however, losing to both Arizona and Washington schools over the last two weekends.
The two teams are very similar in a number of areas. Eleven players have found the back of net for the Beavers while eight Ducks are scored on the year. The leading goal-scorer for both teams has notched three scores. In goal, sophomore OSU keeper Bella Geist is giving up an average of 1.10 goals per game while Ducks’ sophomore keeper Halla Hinriksdóttir sports a 1.14 goals against average. Both teams field a roster full of youth as well as each only have nine upperclassmen. The Ducks have 20 players that are either freshmen or sophomores while the Beavers have 19.
DÉJÀ VU AGAINST HUSKIES
Sunday’s victory over Washington looked eerily familiar to Duck fans. For the second straight year, the game was pushed to extra time with no score on the board after regulation. And for the second straight year, UO got the victory thanks to a golden goal. In 2014, it was Kira Wagoner who scored to give Oregon it’s first win over the Huskies since 2006. This time, Marissa Everett scored just 25 seconds into the extra period and the Ducks dropped Washington in back-to-back years for just the second time in program history. The only other time that was accomplished was when the 2005 and 2006 squads did it.
FRESHMEN FIND THE BACK OF THE NET
Two newcomers sit atop the Oregon statistics for goal scoring. Marissa Everett’s game-winner against Washington was her third score of the season, moving her into a tie with fellow frosh Kyra Fawcett, for top goal-scorer on the team. Everett and Fawcett each have two game-winners to their resumes. The Ducks have been led by a freshman in scoring in four of the last five years, but it’s the first time in that span that two freshmen have led the team.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Eight Ducks have found the back of the net so far this season. Freshmen Kyra Fawcett and Marissa Everett are leading the way with multi-goal efforts on their resumes. Joining them with a single goal are Marlo Sweatman, Miranda Schulz, Maryn Beutler, Kelsey Foo, Brooke Strawn and Taylor Kuroda. Four of the seven goal-scorers recorded their first career goals this year including Fawcett, Everett, Kuroda and Schulz.
WINNER, WINNER
All five game-winning goals have been netted by freshmen. Kyra Fawcett found the back of the net against Portland State (Sept. 18) and Colorado (Oct. 2) to give the Ducks 1-0 victories in both. Marissa Everett put the first score of the game on the board against Air Force (Sept. 11) and then put the golden goal in against Washington (Nov. 1). Taylor Kuroda won the game in Oregon’s favor when she scored against Fresno State (Aug. 30).
LENDING A FOOT
Sophomore Abby Morrow leads the Ducks in assists with three. The Bothell, Wash. product recorded her first career assist on a Marissa Everett goal in the 12th minute against Air Force (Sept. 11). She then followed that up by assisting on another score in that same game when she found Miranda Schulz in the 63rd minute. Morrow then recorded her third assist at Arizona (Oct. 23) when she served it to Kyra Fawcett, who put it home to tie up the contest at 1-all going into halftime.
FREE-KICK FOO
Redshirt senior Kelsey Foo has been a staple this year in taking Oregon’s free kicks. Foo’s big leg helped her out when she scored her second career goal against Air Force on Sept. 11. From 22 yards out, Foo stepped up to take the free kick in the 28th minute and sent a high-arching ball over the Falcons line and keeper. It’s the only Duck goal this season that’s been scored off the straight free kick service.
WONG’S IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Just five months out from an ACL tear, redshirt sophomore Caitlyn Wong returned to the pitch against Portland State on Sept. 18 and made an immediate impact. She logged just 27 minutes in her first contest back, but that was enough for the Sunnyvale, Calif. native to assist on the game-winning goal when she found Kyra Fawcett streaking up the sideline. Then just two weeks later she found Fawcett again for the game-winner against Colorado. Wong stepped up to the take free kick in the 74th minute against the Buffs and sent the service into the box where Fawcett got her head on it to score. Since then, Wong has worked her way back into the starting line-up and has provided a calming presence on the Ducks’ back line.
ABOVE PARR
Senior Kristen Parr spent her first three seasons at Oregon attacking the goal and solidified herself as one of the top Duck offensive threats. But this year, the Bend, Ore. product made the switch from forward to defender as she worked to lead the team from the back of the field rather than the front. Logging the most minutes on the team, Parr has started every match at the center back position this season. With her, the back line has limited Oregon opponents to less than ten shots ten times this season and less than five shots on goal 12 times. The Ducks have also held their opponents scoreless five times and only allowed a single goal six times.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Oregon State is in a tie with the Ducks for 10th in the Pac-12 standings, sporting a 2-8 record in conference play. The Beavers won 2-0 over Colorado and 2-1 over UCLA, with both of those victories coming at home. Emma Jones is the leading the team in points as the sophomore midfielder has scored twice and logged four assists. Alison Pantuso, a 5-11 freshman defender, leads the team in goals with three. Between the posts is sophomore keeper Bella Geist. She’s third among Pac-12 keepers with 85 saves, averaging 4.72 a game. Her five shut-outs are fifth best in the conference. While the Beavers have outscored their opponents 9-8 in the first half, OSU is getting outscored 12-5 after the intermission.
