The Oregon women’s soccer team began its final road trip with a match that seemed destined for extra time, but a 88th-minute goal by Arizona’s Haley Silverberg sealed the outcome for the Wildcats as the Ducks fell 1-2 in Tuscon.
From the get-go, Arizona worked Oregon goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdóttir, tallying four shots in the opening eight minutes, none of which reached the back of the net. The Ducks responded with five straight shots of their own. The game remained scoreless.
With two minutes remaining in the half, Arizona’s Gabi Stoian led the ball to Paige Crouch who did enough to get it past Hinriksdóttir. Then, with just 13 seconds remaining before halftime, Abby morrow assisted Kyra Fawcett for the freshman’s third goal of the season.
The score remained 1-1 through most of the second half, with both teams creating worthy scoring opportunities. Neither cashed in on those opportunities.
With two minutes to go, Silverberg went on the attack from her defensive position and booted a 35-yard try that thrusted in for a goal.
“I was going to hang back and play more defense but then I saw a chance so I took it,” Silverberg said per Arizona’s athletic department. “I told myself to keep it low and drive it, and luckily I did that.”
Oregon (4-11, 1-6) has now lost five consecutive games and sits at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings. Three of the five losses have come by a single goal’s margin.
“That’s a tough way to end a game. I thought we played well on and off the ball tonight,” Oregon head coach Kat Mertz said after the game to goducks.com. “We moved the ball well and created goal-scoring opportunities. There was a lot of fight in our Ducks tonight.
Oregon concludes its final road trip of the regular season in the desert against Arizona State on Sunday, October 25 at 11 a.m. in Tempe.
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