Oregon women’s soccer head coach Kat Mertz is no stranger to Westwood. Entering her third season with the Ducks, Mertz is comfortable returning to a place where she worked as an assistant coach for five years.
The rest of the Ducks looked pretty comfortable as well, as the team played tough in a close 1-0 loss in their Pac-12 opener against UCLA at Drake Stadium.
Oregon (3-6, 0-1 Pac-12) played aggressive throughout the contest, but just couldn’t string things together in the final third to complete the upset bid.
The two-time defending Pac-12 champion Bruins (5-4, 1-0) struck first for the only goal of the night. Sophomore forward MacKenzie Cerda was able to get her team on the board after finishing a nice set-up from teammate Zoey Goralski in the 8th minute. The goal, which gave UCLA a 1-0 lead at the break, was Cerda’s first of the season.
In the second half, Oregon put together a solid performance on both offense and defense, out-playing the Bruins during long stretches. The Ducks had multiple chances to find the back of the net, with several big scoring opportunities coming during dangerous corner kicks. They could never quite string it together, despite finishing with 13 shots and five corners.
The sparkplug for the road team was freshman midfielder Marissa Everett, who flew around the entire game. She was aggressive in her play, attacking the ball and creating multiple looks on goal. Everett finished with a team-high four shots — three of which were on frame.
Senior forward Kira Wagoner also contributed for the Ducks, finishing with two shots on goal in 44 minutes of action.
UCLA goalkeeper Arielle Schechtman was a big reason why Oregon couldn’t get onto the scoresheet, as she was able to come up with big plays time and time again. Schechtman ended the match with 10 saves.
Oregon will return to Eugene for its next match, as they play host to Colorado on October 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Follow Christopher Keizur on Twitter @chriskeizur
Oregon women’s soccer drop 1-0 against UCLA on the road
Christopher Keizur
September 24, 2015
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