The rough start to the Pac-12 season continued for Oregon’s soccer team (6-6-1, 1-3-0 Pac-12) this weekend with a pair of losses to Arizona (1-9-2, 1-2-1 Pac-12) and Arizona State (5-7-0, 1-3-0 Pac-12). The Ducks fell 1-0 to the Wildcats Friday night and were thoroughly outplayed by the Sun Devils in a 4-0 loss Sunday.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4317&SPID=237&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205313812&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
The Ducks had plenty of opportunities to score against the Wildcats, including six second-half corner kicks, but for the third time in their last four games they weren’t able to find the back of the net.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4317&SPID=237&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205312999&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
Freshman Bri Pugh was once again an integral part of the Ducks’ offense with a career-high seven shots against Arizona. Pugh was the only Duck credited with a shot in the second half.
“Bri had some outstanding chances for us,” head coach Tara Erickson told GoDucks.com. “And if we had been able to finish some of those chances, a different result would have come out of this match.”
Erickson also credited Arizona’s goalkeeper for making several big saves to keep the Ducks out of the net.
Arizona scored the game’s only goal on a penalty kick in the 68th minute. The Wildcats were awarded a penalty after a foul was called on Lauren Thompson as she was battling for a loose ball.
The Ducks then fell 4-0 to to the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz., on Sunday. Oregon came out of the gates flat and didn’t play with the intensity they should have, according to junior defender Lauren Thompson.
“We just weren’t mentally tuned in for the entire game,” Thompson said.
Although the Ducks have had trouble finishing chances in their last several games, Erickson said that the bigger issue against Arizona State was an inability to create chances in the first place despite having a fair amount of possessions.
“Friday’s game we definitely left a few goals out on the field,” Erickson said. “But today was a matter of not creating opportunities.”
Arizona State outshot the Ducks 18-5 and had 13 shots on target. Oregon goalkeeper Abby Steele had a career-high nine saves and Erickson said the four goals she did allow were the result of sloppy defensive play.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4317&SPID=237&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205313812&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
“We left her out to dry,” Erickson said.
Thompson conceded that the Ducks’ defense left room for improvement. She said that players weren’t covering for each other, which allowed the Sun Devils to create as many chances as they did.
Solving a problem like that isn’t an easy task. The Ducks will need to work on both creating and finishing chances as well as closing up defensive holes.
“It’s really how you train and how you prepare for everything,” Thompson said. “You can’t just turn a switch on and off.”
Steele was able to maintain confidence throughout the game simply by having a short memory.
“You kind of just have to let it go,” Steele said.
The Ducks travel to Boulder next weekend for a game against conference newcomers Colorado, which means playing at a high elevation.
Erickson said that because the Ducks are playing just one game at a high altitude (instead of having to play in Boulder and Salt Lake City in one weekend), it shouldn’t affect the Ducks too much.
At the same time, she said she expects to play more subs so players don’t have to compete against nature as much.
Steele feels that the Ducks must go into the game treating the Buffaloes — who are currently 11th in the Pac-12 — the same way they treated UCLA and USC. Against the Arizona schools, the Ducks didn’t go into the games expecting a challenge, and they were burned for it.
“We came (to Arizona) expecting to win, instead of expecting a hard weekend like we had last weekend,” Steele said.