A lack of offense has been one of the main factors throughout the Ducks unexpected 3-8-1 season. Despite their recent three-goal output against Wyoming, the Ducks have only managed seven goals over their 12 other contests.
“There have been a couple of things,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said of the team’s lack of offense. “One is bad luck; we’ve had a number of balls hit the crossbar. Second, our confidence is affected because of it. Third, our lineup has shifted because of all the injuries. Because of that, we have players trying different things and playing in different areas.”
Only once have the Ducks equaled the season-high output of three goals: an overtime victory against Weber State, while scoring two goals once and a single goal twice. In total, Oregon has been outscored 29-10 on the season.
Oregon has been shutout seven times already this season, equaling the number of times the Ducks were shutout in all of 2003.
The Ducks rank last in nearly every Pacific-10 Conference offensive category. Oregon is eighth in shots (131), but ranks last in points (27), goals (10), goals per game (0.83), assists (7) and assists per game (0.58).
In relation, Oregon junior goalkeeper Domenique Lainez leads the Pac-10 in saves with 61. She is on pace to break last year’s mark of 90, which ranked second in the Pac-10 and sixth all-time on the Ducks’ single-season list.
“We are going to try and combine around defenses, and to not play as much one on one,” Steffen said. “We are going to try and use our wide players more and stay wide.”
Some of the blame for the offensive woes has to fall on the rash of injuries the Ducks suffered in the spring. Redshirt junior Nicole Garbin’s status remains doubtful for the rest of the season after a spring knee injury sidelined the Ducks’ most potent
offensive weapon. Last year, Garbin broke season records for assists (8) and points (22), tied the shots record (70), and also ranked in the top five all-time for Oregon in goals (7, tie for fifth). In her career, she ranks first in assists (13), second in game-winning goals (6) and third in goals (12), points (37) and shots (112).
“(Losing Nicole Garbin) was a huge factor,” Steffen said. “She has been one of the best players in the program. But our players have to raise their level.”
This season, a quartet of Ducks is tied for the team lead in goals. Freshman Kami Kapaku, junior Mele French, senior Christine Mintz and junior Caitlin Gamble each have two goals for the Ducks. French leads the team in points (5) and is third in shots (16) and shots on goal (9).
The strength of conference
Five Pac-10 teams are ranked among Soccer America’s top 25 this week, including four teams in the top 15. UCLA moved into the No. 6 spot while Washington dropped three spots to No.7, after its loss to No. 24 Arizona. No.14 California and No. 10 Stanford will face off with the Arizona schools over the weekend.
Freshman production
In addition to Kapaku leading the team in shots on goal (14) and ranking second in shots (22), a number of the other freshmen have been producing this season. Midfielder Jen Cameron ranks fifth in shots on goal (5) and sixth in shots (8). Midfielder Dylann Tharp and midfielder/defender Emily Danner have started 11 and seven games, respectively. Aimee Goss came off the bench against No. 6 UCLA to lead the Ducks in shots (3) and shots on goal (1).

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