The Oregon women’s soccer team continues the search for its first conference win this weekend when they host the Washington schools. The Ducks face the 22nd-ranked Cougars at 7 p.m. Friday and will square off with the Huskies on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Papé Field.
The Ducks (7-5-2, 0-2-1 Pac-10) are going into one of the biggest weekends of their season and need to find a win in order to stay within reach of the conference leaders. Oregon has just six games left on the schedule and risks sinking to the bottom of the conference standings if they don’t win this weekend. The final weekend games against goliaths USC and UCLA loom just a few weeks away, and Oregon should not overlook them. The Ducks will meet two teams that have both played well much of the year.
The Cougars (7-4-4, 1-2-1 Pac-10) are ranked in all four major polls for the first time in school history and have been ranked for three straight weeks this season. Much like the Ducks, the Cougars have played several ranked teams and can boast wins over UC Santa Barbara and then-No. 13 Cal. They are coming off of a 3-0 home loss to Stanford and lost earlier to then-No. 3 UCLA and national power Illinois. They lead the all-time series against Oregon (2-6-4) but have tied three of the last four years. The Ducks have not beaten WSU since 2001.
The Huskies (10-5-0, 1-3-0 Pac-10) are coming off their lone conference win at Cal. UW lost the previous five games, all against ranked teams. The Huskies rely on the steady keeper Alex Phillips, who is 8-3-0 this season; however, Washington is outshooting its opponents 193-148 this year. The Huskies are fueled by a high-scoring offense and rarely are shut out. They are 9-2-1 all-time against the Ducks, including last year’s 2-0 win in Seattle.
Tara Erickson gets another opportunity to play against her alma mater Sunday. The former Husky still ranks number three all-time in goals scored for the Huskies and number five in assists.
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