Following their first road loss in over a year, the Ducks hosted No. 7 Stanford to a 1-0 defeat at Papé Field on a smokey Thursday night.
The first shot of the game resulted in a goal putting the Cardinal up 1-0 in the sixth minute. Lumi Kostmayer showed strength to get a touch and turn in the Oregon box, then composure to send the ball into the right side of the net, past an outstretched Leah Freeman.
The Ducks kept five women on the back line – set to dig their heels in, hold position and let Stanford run at them in the first half. Over a quarter of the Cardinal’s possession was played in Oregon’s final third, challenging Freeman’s net 12 times, four of which were on target.
“In the first half we gave Stanford too much respect,” Coach Graeme Abel said. “Backed off of them, didn’t press into them. When we got the ball, we were timid in terms of keeping it. We played fairly well in the second half.”
Freshman right back Anna Emperador controlled her sideline. She stood up and tackled Cardinal attackers, intercepted passes and made forward offensive runs up the wing, delivering balls into dangerous areas in the Stanford box.
“That’s just how I play,” Emperador said. “I like to shake forwards up a little bit. I know the team is behind me, supporting me along the way. I don’t think at all. I just go. If I can help my team be the best they can be, I’m gonna put my all into it. It’s all for them.”
The Ducks only shot of the first half came from a Zoe Hasenauer 25-yard rocket after she picked a poor pass between the Cardinal back line in the 25th minute.
The second half continued like the first. Stanford peppered five shots in the first 10 minutes of play. Freeman battled through an apparent leg cramp early in the second half to make eight saves, including a fully extended fingertip snag with ten minutes left.
Kess Elmore made a darting run from the middle of the pitch, had a right-footed shot that forced Ryan Campbell to make a save in minute 67.
Oregon fought for the equalizer in the frantic final fifteen minutes full of physicality and fouls. The Ducks applied pressure, but their efforts were too late.
“We gave it our all,” Emperador said. “All you can do is put your heart out on the field. Even if it does come down to a loss, you know that you put your heart out there.”
It was a similar match as the UCLA game, where the Ducks went down early and tried to fight back in the second half.
“As a coaching staff we have to ask the question – why is that the case?” Abel said.
The Cardinal are the first of three consecutive top-35 opponents for Oregon. The Ducks will welcome No. 36 California to Eugene on Sunday, Oct. 24 at noon, then travel to Tempe, Ariz. and face No. 19 Arizona State on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
