Oregon women’s soccer (2-10-5, 0-6-4 Big Ten) faced off against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-7-3, 2-5-3 Big Ten) Friday afternoon at Pape Field in a 0-0 draw. Goalkeeper Caeley Goldstein preserved her fourth clean sheet of the season with a first-half penalty kick save, but her attackers couldn’t get on the board despite peppering the Minnesota goal throughout.

The Ducks held a ceremony pre-game to honor their seniors before their matchup against a mid-table Minnesota team. Grey skies covered the field at kickoff, and eventually rain started pouring down on Pape Field.

Both teams struggled to produce much offense early on, with pouring rain hindering their runs. 

Possession was fairly evenly distributed, but Oregon had some strong runs down the middle with solid passing from their midfielders. 

“We haven’t played in the rain yet this whole season, really, even at practice too, so it was a mix-up,” senior goalkeeper Caeley Goldstein said. “This turf, it’s really slick (and) the ball moves so much faster, so it was definitely difficult in that moment.”

The Ducks were strong defensively until a foul from redshirt-senior right back Jayde Holley gave Minnesota a penalty in the 28th minute. Paige Kalal stepped up to the spot for the Golden Gophers, but the shot was saved by Goldstein.

“Penalties are always a gamble, it’s [a] mental game, so I tried to play that as much as I could,” Goldstein said. “I just tried to get in her head before she kicked it, so it just worked out for me.” 

The Ducks’ passing game on the wing was limited by the Golden Gophers’ backline, but they found openings down the middle to put up seven shots on goal in the first 45 minutes of play.

On top of her penalty save, Goldstein saved two other shots on goal to keep things level heading into halftime. The backline remained solid in front of her with redshirt senior center back Cailin Bloom preventing multiple chances in the first half.

The second half started with clear skies and consistent pressure from the Ducks defense, which created multiple counterattacks. Long-ball style, though, was not working for Oregon, which limited crosses into the box from wingers. 

Minnesota quickly gained momentum and almost scored on a header, but a goal-line clearance by midfielder Lauren Kenny kept things level for the Ducks. Kenny was aggressive on defense all game and picked up two fouls in the first half. 

Golden Gophers midfielder Kate Childers picked up a yellow card in the 54th minute which gave the Ducks a free kick in a dangerous spot taken by Jayde Holley. Holley, though, crossed the ball directly into the hands of Minnesota goalkeeper Sarah Martin.

Oregon was in control of possession early in the second half and the Golden Gophers struggled against the Ducks’ backline, who were very aggressive in the box. The backline did a good job at corralling Minnesota’s attacks, but struggled to contain forward Caroline Birdsell, who had two shots on goal in the game..

Golden Gophers forward Mariah Nguyen picked up a yellow card in the 64th minute on a heavy tackle against Ducks defender Cailin Bloom. The free kick that followed set up a strong attack, but Minnesota was able to stop the chance. 

“I think we generated a lot of chances,” head coach Tracy Joyner said. “We looked good in possession. I thought we switched the point of attack really well today.” 

It was a back-and-forth battle in the final 20 minutes of the game, with no team taking clear control of possession. Bloom made an aggressive slide tackle on the edge of the box in the 86th minute, which gave the Golden Gophers a late free kick in a dangerous spot. 

The chance quickly fizzled out after the ball sailed over the goal and Oregon went on the counter and pushed upfield. In the 89th minute, the Ducks drew a free kick on the edge of the box but failed to score before the final whistle sounded.

Joyner also praised her defenders. “Defensively, I thought we were really solid,” Joyner said. “I really liked having Jasmine Young back on the field, and her and Bloom did a great job defending one of the better strikers in our conference.”

The Ducks will host the Washington Huskies on Oct. 26 for the season finale. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.