The Oregon women’s soccer team continued to build upon its strong start to the season by defeating the Weber State Wildcats 1-0 on Sunday at Papé Field. Sophomore midfielder Kirstie Kuhns scored the lone goal on a penalty kick three minutes into the second half.
After playing a lackluster first half, the Ducks came out with more intensity and kept the pressure on the Weber State defense the rest of the game.
“It was good to get the win,” head coach Tara Erickson said. “That was a well-earned penalty kick, we put a lot of pressure on them there.”
Oregon 1, Weber State 0
| Top performer: Kirstie Kuhns, game-winning penalty kick goal in 48th minute What’s next: Oct. 3 at Oklahoma, 5 p.m.; Oct. 5 at No. 12 Oklahoma State, 11 a.m. |
The Ducks dominated defensively, allowing only eight shots. The shutout was freshman goalkeeper Cody Miles’ second of the season. She made three saves in the win Sunday.
“She dictates the tempo defensively, and is improving all the time,” Erickson said. “She’s getting more confident and her teammates can see that.”
Oregon started the year with a loss at the University of Portland, a team that was then ranked 6th, but has only lost one game since, at the hands of 25th-ranked Purdue. Oregon plays its next four games on the road before it returns home to play Oregon State on Oct. 17.
The Ducks’ season has been bolstered by an offensive attack that has recorded 20 shots per game on a regular basis. Going into the game Sunday, the Ducks were averaging 18.5 shots per game. The Ducks have 168 shot attempts through the nine games and are on pace to record 370 shots, which would break the program record of 348 set in 2001.
Sophomore forward Jen Stoltenberg leads the Ducks with five goals and five assists, placing her among the highest-scoring players in the country. She also is second in the Pacific-10 Conference with 1.88 points per game.
Senior midfielder Allison Newton has moved herself up in the Oregon record books as well. With 13 goals in her career at Oregon, Newton now ranks fifth all-time and is second in assists with 12.
With the win Sunday, the Ducks improved to 6-2-1 on the season and will finish their non-conference schedule this upcoming week, as they travel east to play Oklahoma and 12th-ranked Oklahoma State.
“We have one more big weekend to go before we get to Pac-10 play,” Erickson said. “From what I know about those teams, thProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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‘ll have big, athletic players and Oklahoma State is obviously a top-twenty caliber team. It’ll be a good test for us.”
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