In an exhibition match, the Oregon Ducks played to a 1-1 draw with the Portland Pilots in Portland this weekend.
The Ducks were the first on the board, with their strike coming in the 51st minute from freshman Eden Hardy. After a corner kick from senior Abby Morrow, Hardy scored from a shot from the top of the box.
“I didn’t know where I was supposed to be so I just found an open spot outside the box,” Hardy said. “When the ball came to me, I knew I had an open shot on goal so I just looked down and hit it.”
Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Preston denied Portland’s bid to knot the match up with a pair of saves in the following two minutes. Portland went on to score the tying goal in the 65th minute. There was no extra time as the game finished 1-1.
In 2016, the team was leading or tied in 17 games, but only produced eight wins, losing seven more and drawing the remaining two. The Ducks lost to Portland 1-0 during the 2016 season, and have lost all 16 games against the Pilots in regular season play.
“I was really pleased with the effort because I thought we just kept fighting and playing hard,” head coach Kat Mertz said. “Obviously there are plenty of things we will take a look at and need to clean up before Friday, but there were a lot of good things too.”
Oregon will officially open its season this Friday when they face North Carolina State at Papé Field at 5 p.m. PT.
Follow Aaron Alter on Twitter @aaronalter95