The Oregon soccer team welcomes California (11-4-2, 4-2-2 Pac-12) and Stanford (16-0-1, 8-0-0 Pac-12) to Pape Field this weekend for its final two home games of the year. The Ducks will look to build on momentum gained from their last three matches — a 3-1 win at Colorado, a 1-1 tie with Washington and a 1-0 upset over No. 18 Washington State.@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-soccer/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html@@ @@http://www.gostanford.com/sports/w-soccer/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html@@ @@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=237&SPSID=4314@@
The Ducks play host to Cal on Friday night and will look to shut down a Golden Bears attack that has scored 37 goals on the season while allowing just 14. Cal’s offense is lead by Katie Benz, who has scored 10 goals this season to tie for second in the Pac-12.@@http://www.calbears.com/sports/w-soccer/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html#TEAM.TEM@@ @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/WSoccer/2011-Stats/HTML/CAL.HTM#team.ind@@
“We want to really take it to Cal,” junior Mo Fitzgerald said. “Because it’s a game that we can definitely win.”@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204914983@@
Life doesn’t get any easier for the Ducks on Sunday as Stanford comes to Eugene. The Cardinal is a perennial power in women’s soccer and has made a habit of blowing teams out this year.
In 17 games, Stanford has allowed just seven goals while scoring 54. Four of the Pac-12’s top 10 goal-scorers play for Stanford and the Cardinal’s starting keeper, Emily Oliver, boasts a best-in-the-nation goals against average of .236.@@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/WSoccer/2011-Stats/HTML/STAN.HTM#team.tem@@ @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/WSoccer/2011-Stats/HTML/STAN.HTM#team.ind@@
But as good as Stanford’s best players are, their real asset is their depth.
“Their whole entire team (is good),” senior Taylor Jones said. “They have a very deep bench and I’m assuming we’ll be playing against all 22 of them.”@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1554431@@
Despite the daunting statistics, head coach Tara Erickson said the Ducks are looking to surprise the Cardinal.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=107358@@
“We’re going to go into it looking for a result,” Erickson said. “We’re not looking for a moral victory.”
Erickson said that last week’s win over Washington State — the Ducks’ first victory over a ranked opponent since September of 2009 — laid a blueprint for how the Ducks will approach Stanford.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=237&SPSID=4314@@
“If we had looked at the (Washington State) game as, ‘Oh, they’re picked better than us,’ we wouldn’t have come out with the win,” Erickson said.
The Ducks feel like they can have success against Stanford if they play a solid, tactical game and stay mistake-free for 90 minutes.
“We have to play great team defense,” Fitzgerald said. “We have to stay composed on the ball and string passes together and just play our asses off.”
Oregon knows against a team like Stanford, opportunities may be few and far between, but the Ducks won’t let that discourage them.
“You may defend for 89 minutes of the game,” Erickson said. “But a good defensive battle is what’s going to keep you in the game.”
Stanford presents a challenge defensively because they have three strong playmakers in the middle of the field and a tendency to bring their outside backs up.
Despite their habit of bringing their defense up, Erickson does not expect the Ducks to look to counterattack.
“The best attacking that I saw was when teams actually looked to possess the ball against Stanford,” Erickson said, “and not get too much into a kicking match with them.”
With three games left in the season, the Ducks have an outside chance at qualifying for the NCAA tournament, but it would take a strong finish. Still, it’s a goal the Ducks see as realistic if they can perform this weekend.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=237&SPSID=4314@@
“We have to win two of our next three games to have a chance at making the tournament,” Jones said. “I think this weekend could put us in a good position for when we have to play OSU next weekend.”
The Ducks play California tonight at 7 p.m. and welcome Stanford on Sunday at 1 p.m. This weekend also marks the last time Oregon will play at Pape Field, as the brand-new soccer facility officially broke ground on Thursday.@@http://www.goducks.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=500&SPID=237&SPSID=4314@@