Oregon soccer hosted Arizona State at home in an overtime thriller, ending with a goal by the Sun Devils in the last minute to give Arizona State the 2-1 victory and the Ducks their eighth-straight loss.
In just the third minute, junior Emma Eddy opened the scoring for the Ducks with her sixth goal on the season, rebounding a shot off a blocked header by sophomore Chardonnay Curran.
It took a minute for the Sun Devils to get their legs under them, but they returned for the second half hardly looking like the team that started the game.
“We needed to find a way to adapt tactically to enable us to get out of our defensive third a little more in the second half,” said Arizona State head coach Graham Winkworth.
With some necessary adjustments, Marleen Schimmer tied it for Arizona State in the sixty-ninth minute with her third goal on the season.
Tied 1-1 and eager for a goal to take the lead, Oregon and Arizona State traded shots in a wild, final fifteen minutes of regulation play, which included two yellow cards and six attempted shots (4 Oregon, 2 Arizona State) to send them into overtime.
It wasn’t until the final twenty seconds of overtime, the 110th minute of play, that Arizona State’s Schimmer scored again with a right side shot off the left post to secure a 2-1 victory.
“I think we’ve got to play with nothing to lose,” said head coach Kat Mertz. “Maybe the soccer gods aren’t with them right now; but that’s part of the reason we love this game. We love it; we also are sometimes mad at it.”
The Ducks managed six shots in the first half, including one by freshman forward Zoe Hasenauer that was saved by Arizona State’s goalkeeper Nikki Panas with a tip over the crossbar. Marissa Everett returned after a five-game injury-related absence and managed one shot on goal. She previously led the team with a high of six goals, and is now tied with Eddy.
“She brings a little soccer savvy on the flank,” said Mertz of Everett’s return. She went on to say that having Everett on the field creates some space for other players as teams’ are focused on the senior forward.
Redshirt freshman defender for the Ducks Hannah Taylor managed a save with a block on the goal line. As redshirt senior goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir, who earned three saves, shifted right to block, Taylor moved to cover her on the left for the save.
“I was going to do anything, as always, to be there for my team and I knew that once my keeper was out I was going to be behind her and be there for her,” said Taylor. “I fired myself up and I think it fires the team up when we get a big save.”
Oregon will host Arizona on Sunday at noon for its Día de los Muertos Halloween celebration at Papé Field.
Follow Sierra Webster on Twitter @WebsterSierraE.