Despite goalkeeper Caeley Goldstein’s four save performance on the 14 shots she faced, the Ducks could not find the offense to beat a disciplined Trojans’ squad. 

Oregon Women’s Soccer (2-8-3, 0-4-2 Big Ten)  faced off against the USC Trojans (7-3-1, 4-2-0 Big Ten) Friday afternoon at Pape Field in a 1-0 win for USC. 

USC controlled the ball at the beginning, which gave the Trojans opportunities to push the ball past the Ducks fullbacks in most of their possessions. This led to USC pushing its fullbacks upfield allowing them more passing options on attacks.

Oregon opted for more of a defensive approach in order to limit chances on goal, but that also limited its options when attacking. The Ducks needed defensive support after allowing three goals in their previous matchup against Indiana.

Most of Oregon’s possessions were short lived in the first half due to a lack of support from the midfield. The Ducks only managed two shots on goal in the first half.

On the other end, Goldstein made some early saves to keep the Ducks level heading into halftime. Goldstein was a major factor in staying in the game considering the Trojans put up eight shots on goal in the first half. 

Going into halftime both teams were level at 0-0 but USC were dominant in possession and were just waiting for an opening to score.

After the game resumed the Ducks got more aggressive on offense, taking four shots on goal in the opening 10 minutes. Possession became more back and forth with Oregon intercepting a majority of the Trojans’ passes in their half of the pitch.

As the game progressed and both teams remained even, the Ducks had a glimmer of hope in the 73rd minute when forward Cailin Bloom was fouled in the Trojans box but the call was overturned following video review. 

Bloom would later get an open chance on goal but missed both shots. Following the missed opportunity, the Ducks got a free kick on the edge of the box but again couldn’t convert.

In the closing 20 minutes of the game the Ducks gained control of possession and limited attacking runs by USC, but a goal in the 85th minute by Jaiden Anderson sealed the win for the Trojans.

The Ducks will head on the road to play Ohio State on Oct. 9 and Penn State on Oct. 12. The next home game for Oregon is on Oct. 16 against Wisconsin.