The Ducks trailed 2-1 with 20 minutes left to the USC Trojans, who sit at the top of the Pac-12 standings. In the face of a buzzing Papé Field crowd, USC stepped up to take a corner kick in the 72nd minute.
The ball flew into a sea of bodies, careening off multiple players in front of the net. The Trojans’ Simone Jackson found a shot that was saved by a diving Leah Freeman.

But the rebound was directed right to Penelope Hocking of USC, who had nothing but net in front of her as she tapped in the rebound, giving USC a commanding 3-1 lead late.

The Ducks responded well, throwing everything at the net, but they couldn’t find an answer. The key saves from USC were the downfall for Oregon on Thursday night. Sustained offensive pressure was hard to come by, leading to chances for USC on the other end.

The Ducks’ slow start resulted in an inability to get any consistent pressure in the offensive zone. USC also started very sharp on their entries. Working the ball down the sides of the field, the Trojans’ superb passing made it easy for them to get in scoring position.

In the 9th minute, the Trojans’ Penelope Hocking bolted down the left side of the field near the goal. Centering the ball, she found Savannah DeMelo who buried it into the top center of the goal.

USC continued their hot start, putting on consistent pressure and outshooting the Ducks 7-0 in the first 27 minutes of the game.
Oregon had difficulty advancing the ball up the field, but they found some momentum in the latter part of the first half. After a few small flurries of offense, the Ducks tied the game at 1 in the 40th minute by way of a Zoe Hasenauer finish.

Hasenauer’s four goals on the year is second on the team behind Ally Cook, who has six thus far. Cortez leads the team in assists with five.

USC goalkeeper Anna Smith made the best of her six saves early in the second half. A long cross by the Ducks ended with a perfect header from Cook. The ball looked like it would place perfectly into the right side of the goal until Smith, with a diving effort, clipped the ball with her fingertips and directed it out of play.

The crowd gasped with disbelief as the game remained deadlocked at 1.

As the game got more chippy throughout, the Trojans’ Croix Bethune found herself with a penalty kick in the 55th minute. With a chance to give her squad the lead, she placed her shot perfectly into the bottom left corner, putting the Trojans back up 2-1.

USC continued to dominate the offensive side of the ball and eventually tallied the dagger, taking a two-goal lead with 18 minutes left. The crowd stayed loud throughout the game even though Oregon couldn’t find an offensive flow for the majority.
The Ducks were unable to take down USC, who remains undefeated within the conference (6-0-0). Oregon drops to 8-2-4 and will look to bounce back against Colorado in Boulder next Thursday at 2 p.m.