As soon as the Oregon women’s soccer team propelled itself into what appeared to be promising athletic prominence with the best start in school history, it fell off the radar.
What began as a 5-0 undefeated record soon became 5-4 with a squad on the verge of falling below .500. What were significant wins over teams like Boise State, San Francisco and Sacramento State quickly became overshadowed by the storm clouds that have been pouring on the Oregon offense.
The Ducks would like to erase the memories that remain from the games in Dallas and Los Angeles. To make a long story short, Oregon lost those four games in a combined score of 19-0.
To add gas to the fire, the Ducks return home to Papé Field this week — where they remain undefeated — to face defending national champion Portland, which beat them 3-0 last season.
So what does it all really mean? How can a team go from so good to not so good over the course of one week? Well, they could ask the football team. And how can one view the record, the team and the schedule in the larger scheme of things?
For starters, the problem with sports fans today is that patience is a virtue they don’t have. Fans don’t believe in building a program because they think the team should be national caliber now.
The women’s soccer team has been in existence for less than a decade, and the evolution of the program came in 1996. Oregon is now seven seasons in the making, with no postseason appearances and an 8-8 finish in 2001 as its best season performance.
Redshirt junior Erin Engelhardt summed it up best: “There’s potential, and that’s one of the most exciting things,” she said.
There is potential, and it is a disgrace to the program that the majority of the student body fails to see that. The focus is kept on the present. And as of now, the negatives rather than the positives are being highlighted.
Once you look beyond all the shutouts and the two total wins of last season, you might see a group of young women with an intense desire to win as they play in the toughest conference in soccer. Then add to that one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Sure, the schedule could be easier. And sure, the athletics department could fire head coach Bill Steffen because of difficulties leading his program over the past seven years. And sure, the recruiting could be better as well.
But those things won’t change. Why? Oregon will not cheat its way to the top by taking the easy road. And maybe because someone else out there sees potential in a team that has received more criticism than former Washington State head coach Mike Price.
Maybe if Price and Rick Neuheisel show up at a women’s soccer game wearing Oregon hats, the team would get proper publicity. Please.
The Ducks are a squad that consists of more than two-thirds underclassmen while facing 10 NCAA tournament veterans from the previous season. Now, after losing a national caliber goalkeeper in Sarah Peters to graduation last season, the Ducks return two seniors, only one of whom starts.
But here is the good news: Picture a team in two years that could potentially have 10 seniors, all of whom will have plenty experience under their belts. Forward Nicole Garbin will be in her final year and probably in her athletic prime. Goalkeeper Domenique Lainez will also be a senior and have finally had the chance to establish herself.
And what is currently a group of seven freshmen that doesn’t have much more than the hope and desire to win will soon be mature upperclassmen with a real feel for collegiate soccer.
Just be patient. Give it some time.
Remember, great programs aren’t built overnight.