Oregon women’s soccer head coach Graeme Abel wanted to test his team early on with a difficult non-conference schedule. A difficult start it was, as the Ducks began the 2023 season with a 2-0 loss against Baylor at home.
Oregon is dealing with a large turnover of its roster with 10 players from 2022 having graduated and 10 new freshmen additions. Abel went deep into the rotation on Thursday to give many of the newcomers their first experience at NCAA play.
One of the new players in the lineup was redshirt sophomore Maddy Goldberg who started in goal. Goldberg was a bright spot for the Ducks, saving seven attempts on goal.
“Oregon produces good goalkeepers and it’s the environment here that makes them,” Abel said. “She stayed committed to it and she did really well.”
The Ducks’ brought numbers forward early in the game and put pressure on the Bears’ defense. They had an opportunity off a corner in the fifth minute, but couldn’t find their target Ajanae Respass inside the box.
Baylor’s Ashley Merrill gave Oregon its first scare with a shot off the crossbar in the seventh minute. From that moment on, the Bears dominated the rest of the first half.
Merrill had another opportunity later in the half. Her shot from inside the penalty area was saved by Goldberg, but not secured. A group of Oregon defenders clustered together inside the box, but a Bears forward got to the ball first. Goldberg came up with the save once again.
Baylor had several more opportunities to score in the first half, but Goldberg came to the rescue of the Ducks each time.
The Bears finally broke through in the 66th minute. Tyler Isgrig fired the ball into the top right corner off an assist from Jenna Patterson.
It wasn’t much later that Baylor took complete control of the game. In the 74th minute, Callie Conrad flicked the ball forward to Skylar Zinnecker who took one touch before striking it at the bottom center.
The Ducks had a late opportunity to get a goal back and give themselves confidence heading into their next game. They won a corner in the final minute, but their attempt was blocked.
“There’s lessons that came from today and they’re all fixable,” Abel said. “Maybe harsh for these guys to take this on the chin right away in the first actual college game and it’s okay, we just need to make sure we continue to move forward.”
The Ducks’ schedule doesn’t get any easier from here. Next up, they travel to Fayetteville to face No. 8 Arkansas on Aug. 24 at 4:30 p.m.
