Oregon soccer head coach Bill Steffen said Sunday afternoon that soccer is at times a “cruel” sport.
Soccer was extraordinarily cruel to Steffen and the Oregon Ducks this weekend.
Oregon (7-6-1, 1-5 Pac-10) dropped two Pacific-10 Conference contests at Papé Field Friday and Sunday. The losses to No. 3 UCLA (14-1, 5-0) and Southern California (8-4-1, 4-1) were the final home matches for six Oregon seniors.
The Ducks lost 2-0 to the Bruins Friday, then dropped a close, at times emotional contest to the Trojans on Sunday by a final score of 1-0.
While the Ducks were outscored 3-0 on the weekend, the players and coaches felt they outplayed their opponents for the majority of the time they were on the field.
“They played and they battled and they deserved to win, but unfortunately they came up short,” Steffen said.
Sunday’s loss to USC was the closest contest for Oregon on the weekend. The Trojans went up early with a goal on a corner kick in the 13th minute. Southern California freshman Kelly Blais took the corner after Oregon goalkeeper Sarah Peters saved a shot over the crossbar. Blais sent the ball towards Oregon’s front post, where sophomore Megan Abbamonto headed it low past Peters.
The goal lit a fire under the Ducks’ offense, which put pressure on the Trojan defense for the remainder of the match. Oregon’s best chance to score came with 19 minutes left in the contest, when senior Chalise Baysa dribbled along the USC endline and passed in front of the Trojan goal to sophomore forward Ann Westermark. USC goalkeeper Shaelyn Fernandes disrupted Westermark’s shot just enough to make the sophomore shoot wide.
“We just didn’t finish our chances,” Baysa said. “That’s about it.”
Fernandes turned out to be a key player in the match as she disrupted more Oregon plays later in the contest. In the second half, Baysa and freshman striker Nicole Garbin both got into scuffles with Fernandes, and both times the Ducks were denied legitimate chances to score.
Thirteen minutes into the second period, Baysa had the ball all alone on the left side of the Trojan goal. Fernandes came out to challenge Baysa, but when Baysa got past her, Fernandes seemed to grab the Oregon forward’s legs. Fernandes was issued a yellow card on the play. Nineteen minutes later, Garbin had a similar breakaway, and Fernandes made a diving stop on the ball at Garbin’s feet. The ball squirted free, but Garbin was still tangled with Fernandes, who was injured on the play.
“She wasn’t going for the ball, that was obvious,” Baysa said about her encounter with the USC goalie. “But unfortunately, the refs haven’t been on our side all season.”
The Ducks were in a similarly hard-fought contest with UCLA on Friday, but the top-ranked Bruins never let the Ducks get close. UCLA scored twice in the first 15 minutes, then cruised the rest of the match, despite several scoring opportunities for Oregon. Sarah-Gayle Swanson and Breana Boling scored the two goals for the Bruins.
The Ducks played well in the second half, outshooting the Bruins 14-10.
Oregon will next travel to Corvallis on Sunday to take on Oregon State.
