Oregon senior defender Christine Mintz never missed a start in her Oregon career.
Until last Sunday.
Mintz sat out in Oregon’s win against Gonzaga as the result of a red card she was issued in Friday night’s match against Wyoming. The red card was issued after Mintz tackled Wyoming forward Mercy Adetoye on a breakaway toward Oregon’s goal.
Mintz said the choice to tackle Adetoye during the game was made in a split second and was a difficult decision to make.
“I thought I was close enough to make the tackle,” Mintz said. “It was a decision, and I made it. I got the ball and unfortunately, I got her too.”
Mintz’s red card ended her streak of consecutive games started at 48. Junior midfielder Cristan Higa is now the leader with 14 in a row. Higa had her own streak of 45 games snapped last October vs. California.
“(Wyoming’s) number four is a dangerous player,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said of Adetoye. “And unfortunately, she spun us. Christine’s decision to take her down was a professional foul, and the referee decided to remove Christine.”
Offense gets going
The Ducks’ three-goal output against Wyoming was their highest since their win against Weber State on Sept. 3. During the Ducks recent five-game losing streak, Oregon managed only two goals and was dealt four shutouts.
After a goal and an assist last weekend in a 3-1 win over Wyoming, junior Mele French leads the team in points (5) and is tied for the team lead in goals (2) . She is tied for second in assists (1), ranks third in shots (16)
and third in shots on goal (9). Sophomore Andrea Valadez ranks second on the team
in shots (21), is tied for first in shots on goal (11) and tied for second in assists (1). Freshman Kami Kapaku also has a pair of goals on
the season against fifth-ranked Portland
and Wyoming, and now leads the team in shots (22) and is tied for the lead in shots
on goal (11).
Lainez solid behind the net
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Domenique Lainez turned in two solid performances last weekend, allowing only one goal against Wyoming and Gonzaga combined. She dropped her goals against average to 1.94 and has allowed 18 goals this season. Lainez also has 51 saves for the year and is on pace to break her personal season record of 90, which she set last year. Her 90 saves ranked second in the Pacific-10 Conference last year and sixth on the Ducks single-season list.
Injury update
French was held out of practice on Tuesday with a protective boot on her right foot, nursing a severe bruise sustained against Gonzaga on Sunday.
Freshman Jen Cameron suffered a back ankle sprain against Gonzaga, and her status for this weekend is questionable.
“I don’t know exactly what the prognosis is,” Steffen said. “But I know that a high one is better than a low one, but I don’t know about a back one.”
Junior Caitlin Gamble will be out for a few weeks with a stress fracture, while Valadez is day-to-day with a strained quadricep. Junior Nicole Garbin, Oregon’s leading scorer last year, is still doubtful for the duration of the conference schedule with a knee injury.
Top-ranked opponents
Four Duck opponents this week were ranked in the top 10 in the four major collegiate women’s soccer polls this week. Washington was ranked between fourth and fifth in the collective polls, Portland was tabbed between fourth and sixth, UCLA was chosen between seventh and 13th, and Stanford was picked between eighth and 16th.
The Ducks will travel to
Southern California today for the
opening weekend of the Pac-10 season against USC and UCLA.

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