So close, and yet so far.
The Oregon soccer team came oh-so-close to picking up its eighth win of the season last weekend against Southern California and No. 3 UCLA, but couldn’t notch a victory against either team.
Eight wins is not insignificant to the Ducks (7-7-1 overall, 1-5 Pacific-10 Conference). Eight wins would set the team record, and mark the official arrival, of sorts, of a new era in Oregon soccer.
But the eight wins kept slipping just out of the Ducks’ grasp last weekend, as chance after scoring chance missed the Papé Field nets for Oregon. The Ducks lost 2-0 to UCLA and 1-0 to USC.
Oregon will try for win number eight against Oregon State in Corvallis on Sunday.

Beaver beat down
When UCLA escaped Papé Field with a closer-than-expected 2-0 win over Oregon, the Bruins thought they could handle everything offered by the state of Oregon.
Not so.
The Bruins headed to Corvallis Sunday, and what they got was a rude awakening from the Oregon State Beavers. Oregon State — previously winless in the Pac-10 — handed UCLA a 2-1 loss. The loss was only the second of the year for the Bruins, who fell into a three-way tie for second in the conference.
Oregon State’s victory had ramifications for UCLA in the national polls. The Bruins dropped from third to sixth in the Soccer America weekly poll, and plummeted from third to fifth in the NSCAA poll.

Seeing red
One team in the Pac-10 was happy to see UCLA lose to Oregon State. The Stanford Cardinal, undefeated in the Pac-10, took over sole possession of the top spot with the Bruin loss. Stanford is 5-0 in the Pac-10, and 12-1-1 overall.
With UCLA falling in the national polls, Stanford jumped to No. 2 in the NSCAA poll and to No. 4 in the Soccer America poll. Stanford will need to get past UCLA to win the conference crown, though, as the two teams square off in the final game of the season in Palo Alto.

Fouling, Shooting, Saving
Oregon may be tied for last place in the Pac-10, but the Ducks lead the conference in a few areas.
For one, Oregon sure can foul. The Ducks pace the Pac-10 in yellow cards, with 16. The team ranks fifth in the conference in fouls per game, as they average 12.27 fouls per game.
Oregon sure can shoot, too. The Ducks average 19.67 shots per game, which ranks just behind UCLA (21.6 per game) for the conference lead.
Finally, Oregon sure can save legitimate scoring opportunities. The team ranks second in the conference with 5.2 saves per game. Junior goalkeeper Sarah Peters ranks third in the Pac-10 in saves and saves per game, and ranks eighth in the Pac-10 in shutouts.

Believe in Baysa
With three assists and a goal against the Arizona schools two weekends ago, Oregon senior forward Chalise Baysa moved into a virtual lock to be the team’s points leader this season.
If she hangs on, Baysa will be the first Oregon player ever to lead the team in points in all of her four seasons in a Ducks uniform.
When Baysa was introduced over the loudspeaker at a ceremony honoring Oregon’s seniors Sunday, the announcer said she was “perhaps the best Oregon player of all time.”
Among Baysa’s notable achievements: She is the school’s all-time goals and points leader, she is the career leader in shots, she is the career leader in game-winning goals and she has missed only one start in four years.