Oregon women’s soccer hosted California Friday afternoon, losing by a final score of 1-0.
This game came two days after Oregon opened Pac-12 play against the defending NCAA champion Stanford Cardinal. The Ducks defeated the Cardinals 2-1, making it the first time in program history to do so.
Early in the game, it was chippy, with two Oregon fouls in the first four minutes of play.
Oregon got off to a hot start offensively, with two shots from Eden Hardy and a corner kick from True Dydasco.
Mia Palmer added a third foul from the Ducks in the 11th minute. The Ducks finished with seven fouls in the first half of the game.
Oregon’s defense was sound, snuffing out plays throughout the match. Cal was scoreless through the first half.
Oregon’s Chai Cortez went down after taking an elbow to the temple from Cal’s Amaya Grey in the 17th minute. Maggie Lacy came in for the substitution, and Cortez did not return for the remainder of the match.
Entering the 24th minute, Cal still did not have a single shot on goal, while Oregon had three. Soon after, Cal went on the offensive, mustering three shots that were saved by Leah Freeman, the Ducks’ freshman goalkeeper.
The physical play didn’t halt at the half, as both teams finished the match with 28 total fouls.
At the beginning of the second half, Oregon’s defense didn’t slow down, keeping Cal under constant duress.
However, there did not seem to be any visible frustration among the players but both benches from Cal and Oregon were very vocal as they were shouting at their teammates the entire game.
Unlike the first half, Oregon did not foul until the 65th minute of the second half, while Cal continued, committing three fouls.
Finally, at the 70th minute, Cal’s Emma Westin scored the first goal of the match with an assist from Lily Arbabaraghi.
Oregon’s Eden Hardy came in at the 76th minute. With four shots on goal through the game, having her on the field gave the Ducks a chance to tie it up.
Oregon was unable to tie the game in the final 14 minutes as Cal secured a 1-0 victory.
Oregon looks to bounce back, matching up with UCLA on Friday, March 5th at 5:30 p.m.
