Oregon defeated Arizona State 1-0 when Tiffany Smith slid in for a goal in the first half to help the Ducks pick up their first Pacific-10 Conference win this season Friday at Papé Field.
On Sunday, the Ducks (8-6-1 overall, 1-2-1 Pac-10) were forced to fight on against Arizona after losing two of their defensive anchors in the first half of play. The match, in which two Arizona coaches were ejected, ended in a 2-2 tie.
Against the Wildcats (6-8-1, 1-2-1), a same-team injury occurred minutes after Darcie Gardner bodied in a goal off a cross from Allison Newton, who was fed by Danielle Sweeney on a restart. Just seconds before halftime, junior defender Nicole Dobrzynski and defensive center midfielder Jen Cameron crashed violently into each other while attempting to clear the ball. The two lay motionless for 30 seconds, gradually pulling themselves up.
Cameron, who was already wearing a black headguard after suffering a concussion against Portland on Oct. 5, was back for just her second game after missing three matches because of the injury. Dobrzynski and Cameron, whose nose and mouth smashed into Dobrzynski’s forehead were both bleeding as they eventually made their way off the field and onto the trainer’s table, where their heads hung in pain and where they pressed tissues and ice packs against their faces. Their status for this week’s matches against Washington and Washington State is unclear.
Freshman Sara Plutko and sophomore transfer Jenny Baker substituted in for the injured players initially. In the second half, Plutko continued to fill in for Dobrzynski in the back line, while Sweeney shifted into the defensive midfielder spot and junior transfer Jessica Goodell and freshman Jen Stoltenberg (who provided a spark against ASU and assisted on Smith’s goal) saw more action.

Facing a younger, less experienced lineup, Arizona scored first and then again after Teresa Bowns sank a 25-footer during the 58th minute.
“I thought (the goal) was gonna be enough but I guess that was the fault of mine,” Bowns said. “We kinda gave up after that lead.”
The Arizona bench was issued a yellow card during the 68th minute. Wildcats assistant coach John Galas, who assisted at Oregon during Bill Steffen’s tenure as head coach, was ejected from the game despite a red card not being shown by a referee. Head coach Dan Tobias threw off his glasses just minutes later when he was given a red card and asked to leave the field.
Jessie Chatfield, who earned five saves, including several crucial ones in the waning moments of the second half against the Sun Devils, registered six saves against the Wildcats. She echoed the sentiments of coach Tara Erickson, saying both games over the weekend were “must-wins.” Cameron and Dobrzynski’s absences, she added, were felt Sunday.
“It is a big change to have to change the lineup that drastically with two key players being out,” Chatfield said. “It is like starting the game all over again for us to try and figure out where we are all meshing together and where the communication is coming from.”
Chatfield was upset with a referee whom she said did not penalize an Arizona player in the second half for an unsafe high kick in front of an Oregon player’s face, which she said resulted in the match-tying goal.
“It was dangerous and it was definitely a high kick and it led to the goal and (the ref) was hesitant to blow his whistle and it cost us,” Chatfield said. “It was really upsetting and it’s outrageous that he couldn’t call it so I was really upset about it.”
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