The 2005 soccer season came to a close Sunday for the Oregon women who fell 2-0 to Stanford in front of an audience of 387 at Pape Field. The loss may have spoiled the Ducks chance of becoming the first team in school history to end with a winning record, but they did manage the program’s second .500 season (9-9-1 overall, 1-8-0 conference).
The scene on Oregon’s sideline following the game was typical of any season-ending game. The players who usually speak in post-game interviews with restrained words and stone faces struggled to hold back tears. It was as big of an outpouring of emotion as one could ever see out first-year head coach Tara Erickson’s squad, which bid farewell to seven players.
“We played hard and finished on a positive note for the seniors and had a .500 record,” Erickson said. “Not knowing what to expect going into this season with a new coaching staff and a lot of new players, we have to look at this as a positive.”
The Cardinal broke the stalemate in the 30th minute when freshman midfielder Kelley Birch came off the bench to score her second goal in as many games, marking the eventual game-winner. Senior forward Martha West was credited with the assist, but also added a goal of her own in the second half. West fired an unassisted shot from 15 yards out past Oregon goalkeeper Jessie Chatfield in the 70th minute. It was one of Stanford’s 16 shots taken in the game, which was 10 more than the Ducks could muster. Senior midfielder Andrea Valadez of Oregon thought she and her teammates played hard despite the loss.
“I think we left it all out on the field,” Valadez said. “We battled as hard as we could, but didn’t get the result we wanted.”
Despite only six shots to its credit, the Oregon offense was not without its fair share of scoring opportunities. Senior forward Nicole Garbin created two scoring chances on her own resulting in two shots lacing wide past Cardinal net-minder Erica Holland. Early in the first half, Garbin fed fellow senior Caitlin Gamble with a cross for a one-touch shot. The ball almost traded paint with the near goalpost before heading out of bounds. Then in the 63rd minute, Garbin sent a cross to Tiffany Smith whose ensuing header went wide of the goal. The near misses were a relief for Holland who ended with two saves to preserve Stanford’s 10th win of the season. At 10-6-3 (4-3-2 conference), the Cardinal finished fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Although being a senior, Garbin was not honored before the game with her fellow classmates. Garbin will petition the NCAA in the off-season for a sixth year of eligibility in light of her knee injuries that sidelined her for all of 2002 and 2004. Pending she be allowed to play in 2006, Garbin will return to a team that tripled last year’s win total and put together the program’s best non-conference record (8-1-1). Garbin has high expectations for Oregon next season and the parting seniors to thank for helping the Ducks to their second nine-win season in the program’s history.
“We wouldn’t be where we are without them,” Garbin said. “I expect us to go farther than we did this year and to have a winning season.”
The senior play of Garbin, Valadez, Katie Abrahamson and Cristan Higa was essential to Oregon’s success this year, but more importantly, they provided leadership for Erickson’s upcoming younger players such as Chatfield.
“I felt thankful all season to have them there,” Chatfield said of her older teammates. “It was a pleasure playing with them.”
Chatfield had two saves in Sunday’s game and played a significant role in improving the Ducks’ defense that allowed a conference worst 2.33 goals per game in 2004. Chatfield already holds the school record for shutouts in a season with seven, and dropped her team’s goals against average to 1.71 this past season. Erickson is proud of the defensive play she saw from
Oregon and hopes they continue to improve heading into 2006.
“We learned that we have a good defense and goalkeeper,” Erickson said. “We’re still pretty young in our soccer mentality and in our understanding of the game. We still rely too much on our athleticism rather than strategy and moving the ball to build our attack, but those are things we can work on in spring.”
After Sunday’s loss, Erickson once again touched on how pleasing her team’s unexpected success was for her and her staff.
“I know I’ve said this a lot lately, but I truly am surprised with how well we have done this year,” Erickson said. On a positive note, senior midfielder Caitlin Gamble was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District-8 soccer first team. The senior was second on the Ducks in goals scored this season with four.
