Kuroda?s Late Goal Gives Ducks First Win of the Season
EUGENE, Ore. – Freshman Taylor Kuroda scored in the 75th minute to lift the Ducks over Fresno State 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Papé Field. It’s the first victory of the year for Oregon.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Mia Costa controlled the ball in the middle of Bulldog territory and pushed it to the right side of the box where Taylor Kuroda made her run to get past a Fresno State defender to receive the pass. From there, she went to the far side of the net to get it past the Bulldog keeper and give Oregon its first lead of the 2015 season.
The Ducks controlled the possession for a majority of the game as the Bulldogs didn’t get a shot off until the 26th minute and Duck goalkeeper Lauren Holden wasn’t tested until the 43rd minute when she recorded her first save of the day. The second half saw the Oregon pressure continue to mount as the Ducks took six shots before Kuroda found the back the net. From there, the Ducks defense held tough to limit Fresno State’s chances to tie the game. In fact, the Bulldogs only got two shots off during the final 45 minutes of play, both of which were saved by Holden.
WHAT IT MEANS: Kuroda’s goal seemed like it was a long-time coming for a Ducks squad who has outshot their opponents in every match this season, but have been outscored 4-1 on the year. It was the first career goal for the Honolulu, Hawai’i product who has only logged 25 minutes of play on the season. It was also the first career assist for Mia Costa who transferred from San Diego to join the Oregon team this season. At goalkeeper, Lauren Holden recorded her first career victory as she finished the day with three saves. It was also the first career shutout for the San Ramon, Calif. native.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Kat Mertz:
“We played a lot of different people in different positions today and it was a complete team effort. I thought we earned it today and it’s nice to be able to get the win.”
“The goal and win gives us confidence moving forward. We have a really big weekend ahead of us as we head east to take on two ACC opponents. “
Freshman Taylor Kuroda:
“I saw Mia and she started dribbling in. I love to make those diagonal runs across and so I just went right in front of her and she slipped it to me and I was able to put it in the net.”
“I was so excited to get my first goal and see all the hard work pay off. The pre-season has been up and down for me with my fitness, but my teammates have been really helpful in getting me through it. Kat always tells us that everybody plays a key role on this team and it showed today.”
UP NEXT: The Ducks will head east to take on two ACC opponents next weekend. Up first is head coach Kat Mertz’s alma mater North Carolina State. The contest against the Wolfpack is scheduled to kick-off Friday evening at 5 p.m. (PT). The Ducks will then wrap up the weekend by playing Wake Forest Sunday morning at 8 a.m. (PT). The next home contest for Oregon will be Friday, Sept. 11 when it hosts Air Force.
