For the first time this season the Oregon women’s soccer team failed to protect an early lead as it fell to USC 2-1 in heart-breaking fashion Sunday.
The loss marks the fourth straight for the Ducks, who, despite posting eight wins thus far, are still in search of their first conference win under first-year head coach Tara Erickson.
“It was a tough loss for us,” Erickson said. “Obviously we were in it and so close, I wanted a win. We weren’t playing for a tie, we weren’t packing it in, I wanted us to have a better result. Anytime you get down to the wire and give up a goal in the last minutes it’s hard. They had chances, we had chances, we battled hard and it was a well-fought game.”
Senior midfielder Caitlin Gamble got the Ducks (8-5-1 overall, 0-4-0 conference) on the board first with a goal scored in the 18th minute. Gamble went unmarked by the USC defense as she sprinted toward the net and tapped in a well-placed cross by Tiffany Smith. Smith’s pass arched over USC goalkeeper Veronica Simonton, who could only watch the ball roll across the penalty box to Gamble, who parked it in the left corner. It was Gamble’s third goal of the season. Smith and Nicole Garbin were both credited with assists on the score, which brought the crowd of 540 at Pape Field to life who, like the Oregon players, hunger to see more wins.
“This game was a missed opportunity,” Gamble said. “But if anything we showed that we could really play in this conference and that we’re ready to win.”
Junior midfielder Rosa Anna Tantillo of USC (7-4-1, 1-1-1) came off the bench in the first half and drilled home the equalizer marking her first of two goals in the game. In the 33rd minute, Tantillo effortlessly dribbled the ball unopposed on Oregon’s end of the field before firing in a shot from 25 yards out that banked off the crossbar and past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Jessie Chatfield.
From there the Women of Troy rolled up their sleeves on defense and denied the Ducks a second goal. Oregon peppered Simonton and her teammates with 12 shots. In between the goal boxes, the opposing midfielders waged a physical battle highlighted by Duck Kate Nelson, who dueled with Tantillo. The two glanced off one another early and often exchanging slide-tackles, but no handshakes.
“We definitely could have beaten them and that was more exciting than anything, playing the Trojans and knowing that we should have won that game,” Nelson said. “I like a physical game. I like to play like that, and it’s fine with me if they want to hit me.”
Tantillo struck again in the second half after re-entering the game in the 78th minute. She sent in four of her eight total shots, accounting for nearly one-third of the team’s total (23). Teammate Amy Rodriguez added two shots of her own. Tantillo’s fifth shot broke the goal line with just more than three minutes left in regulation, sucking the noise out of the crowd, but not the drive out of the Ducks. Oregon battled to the final whistle and even had a free kick in the last 10 seconds from roughly 40 yards out. The cross fell harmlessly into a sea of cardinal jerseys looming in front of USC’s net. The Oregon faithful could label the loss as a moral victory, but Erickson assured otherwise following the game.
“We’re not playing for moral victories by any means,” Erickson said. “I want to win. Hopefully we can get bodies healthy for Friday’s match and maybe be ready with a full arsenal of players. And maybe we’re a little deeper now by getting some other girls some experience and hopefully that will help us out Friday.”
Oregon travels to Corvallis Friday for a Civil War match-up with Oregon State. Erickson hopes to have midfielders Andrea Valadez and Cristan Higa back in her starting lineup, which was without the two on Sunday for the third-straight game. Erickson went to Taylor Callan and Sabrina DeMonte to fill in for her injured seniors. DeMonte is more accustomed to starting on defense, but showed her versatility playing in the midfield.
“It’s hard to replace two starters, but I think I’ve done a decent job at it,” DeMonte said. “Taylor’s doing a great job filling in in the middle and I’m happy about that.”
Friday’s game against the Beavers kicks off at 3 p.m.

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