Ducks goalkeeper Leah Freeman continued her stellar play Thursday against the Washington State Cougars, making save after save in the first 45 minutes.

But while scoring opportunities did arise for the Ducks late in the second half, it seemed inevitable that the Cougars would get one past Leah Freeman.
It came in the 89th minute as a set corner flew in and the Cougars’ Elyse Bennett sealed the game with a header into the bottom corner. 

Final score: Cougars 1, Ducks, 0.
“We don’t treat wins and losses any differently,” Ducks head coach Graham Abel said. “We’ll take what we can from this game and we’ll learn and move forward.”

Crowded with parents at Papé Field, the Ducks struggled to maintain momentum through the first half of play against the Washington State Cougars. 
Freeman was excellent early. Her most important save came in the 16th minute, when a through-ball made it past defender Anna Phillips and a split-second decision by Freeman to lunge at the ball that lay directly in front of Bennett to save the goal. 

In a rowdy crowd of Ducks and Cougar parents, the atmosphere was electric throughout the whole game as cheers and boos filled the air every single play.

Some inconsistent officiating drew anger from the home crowd as they felt certain free kicks were called for WSU but not for the Ducks. 
Junior defender Croix Soto seemed to make an impact each time the Cougars made an offensive run. In the 17th minute, she broke up a crossing pass that would’ve given the Cougars the lead.

Both sidelines were quite active throughout the match as a substitution-packed game affected the momentum for both teams.

In the 20th minute, the Ducks got one past WSU goalie Nadia Cooper on a corner kick,only to be disallowed by the lead referee, ruling a foul for goalie interference. 

The Stadium erupted with boos from the more-than passionate crowd. 

Though Abel stressed that it was not the officiating that lost them the game. 

“She’s a top class referee, I’m sure it was the right call,” Abel said.  

Elyse Bennett continued her relentless attack all through the game which caused worry among the home crowd. Parents began to murmur, “She’s too much,” and “What are we going to do about 13?”

“I thought we stopped her… a set piece is controlled but we just need to be first to the ball,” Soto said.

What the Ducks lacked in offense, Soto and company made up for on defense by intervening on each scoring opportunity that the Cougars had. Though the Cougars persistent attack proved to be too much for the depleted Ducks on Thursday night. 

The Ducks seemed to start a bit shaky to start the second half of play, in part due to the never-ending vertical attack from the Cougars.

While the Cougars did a great job of stretching the field, the Ducks seemed sluggish and were unable to gain any traction on the offensive end. 

Forwards Ally Cook and Kess Elmore developed slight chances late in the second half, but were unable to complete key passes and find the back of the net.

Next up for the Ducks: A hungry Washington Huskies squad on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Papé Field.