The Oregon women’s soccer team never recruited her.
The Ducks never came banging on her door to try and beg her to join the team.
It all happened at Safeway.
When assistant head coach Jon Keister would stroll through senior Mary Etter’s line she would jokingly mention that if the Ducks needed a keeper, to give her a call.
After offering a few times, Etter walked into the soccer office and the next thing she knew, she was signing eligibility forms. Etter, who played soccer throughout high school, has walked on to the women’s soccer team and now backs up senior Sarah Peters at goalkeeper.
“It’s kind of funny how it just all happened,” Etter said. “Next thing I know I’m just standing here and I don’t know what my purpose is, but I’m loving it. The team is awesome.”
It has been quite an experience for Etter, her first time touching a soccer ball in almost three years. But Etter has kept busy before taking up soccer again.
The Washington native has been throwing the discus for the Oregon women’s track team for the past three years, and has done well, to say the least. Etter is a two-time-All-American discus thrower for the Ducks the last two seasons and placed strongly in the NCAA Championship last year.
Etter set personal bests in track last year in the shot put, discus and hammer throw. She said will always have a love for track, but enjoys the team aspect of soccer.
“Track is more of an individual sport and (soccer) is more like a family,” Etter said. “It’s more of a real team and everybody knows your name and you could be on the track team for two years and not even know somebody.”
As a two-sport athlete for Oregon, Etter finds that soccer doesn’t
hinder her track workouts. Head coach Bill Steffen can see Etter’s strong work ethic and likes what she brings to the team.
“Mary as a person has a good work rate, so she’s able to do this without getting stressed or worn-out or frustrated,” Steffen said. “She’s brought a lot of energy, it’s just a part of her nature. She has really developed in the short time she has been with us.”
Etter saw her first action in Oregon’s game against Wisconsin-Green Bay when she played 32 minutes and recorded one save.
That was the first time the senior from Everett, Wash. had seen action since she was MVP and a three-year letterwinner for Snohomish High School, which won a state title in 1997, Etter’s sophomore year.
Etter didn’t expect much when she walked onto the Oregon soccer team and even receiving a T-shirt was a surprise to her. But so far, she is loving her experience and having a great time.
Injury Update Sophomore goalkeeperDomenique Lainez is starting to practice again after suffering a serious right ankle sprain in
early September.
Lainez normally backs up Peters as second-string goalkeeper, and Steffen said she is about 60 percent.
“Dom is starting to be able to do things now and her mobility has gotten a lot better,” Steffen said. “Her strength and ability to kick a ball is still limited by her injury. She is at that second stage right now where she has done all the rehab stuff, but now you have to get back and do all the real world stuff.”
Sophomore forward Nicole Garbin and freshman forward Andrea Valadez have anterior cruciate ligament injuries and will be out the rest of the season as redshirts.