Moments before Oregon (7-9-1, 1-7-0 Pac-12) soccer’s match versus the Arizona Wildcats (11-5-2, 4-4-2 Pac-12) on Sunday at Papé Field, the morning rain turned to a light drizzle, the sun gleamed through a break in the ominous clouds and a rainbow stretched across the sky.
An Oregon fan sitting near the top of the stands yelled over the sounds of the Oregon Marching Band, pointed to the rainbow and said, “Maybe this is a sign. I think this could be the one.”
After 94 scoreless minutes, senior forward Bayley Bruner delivered the golden right-footed strike off an assist from junior midfielder Emma Eddy, which spun its way to the top right-hand corner of the goal to end the Ducks’ eight-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory in overtime.
“I just saw an opening near the post, and Emma laid it off perfectly,” Bruner said. “After a losing streak, the hard times make the good times sweeter.”
After her game-winning goal, Bruner was tackled into a dogpile by her laughing, cheering teammates.
“I feel like a big cloud has lifted because we struggled getting results in the Pac-12, especially on Sunday games,” redshirt senior goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir said.
Hinriksdottir tied her career-high of seven saves and passed the 200 career-save mark with her parents in the audience, who flew all the way from Iceland to see her play her final games as a Duck.
The Wildcats dominated possession early on, pressuring the Ducks defense with a shot-on-goal by Arizona sophomore forward Hannah Clifford, which went just wide to the left within the first minute of play.
The offensive press shifted to the Ducks after their slow start, with two shots from freshman forward Zoe Hasenauer in the 14th and 16th minutes.
Hasenauer’s first shot was tipped just over the bar by Arizona senior goalkeeper Lainey Burdett, and the second slid about a foot wide to the right of the goal post delivered from point-blank range.
The two shots by Hasenauer were the best opportunities for the Ducks, and the game remained scoreless at the half.
Arizona dominated the game in shots in the second half with six to Oregon’s four, but again, neither team was able to capitalize, and the match went to overtime.
For head coach Kat Mertz, the team’s gritty mentality became the key late in the game.
“Everybody had a piece of this one, and that’s the most important thing,” Mertz said.
Coach Mertz said Bruner has had a lot of pressure on her shoulders in the absence of Oregon’s high scoring senior Marissa Everett, who missed five games with a hamstring injury, but came off the bench at the 26th minute for the most playing time she has seen since her return to play on Thursday versus Arizona State.
“As a forward sometimes you feel the responsibility that we have to score,” Mertz said of Bruner. “For her to not give up, be resilient and be in the position for Emma, that’s awesome. That’s trusting your teammates. I’m so proud of her.”
The Ducks’ final game of the season will be at home against the Oregon State Beavers at 6 p.m. Friday.
Email Bryce Dole at [email protected]