Soccer

The Oregon soccer team didn’t get any love from the Rose City
this weekend.
The Ducks fell 3-1 to Portland State on Friday in Eugene and 3-0 to No. 4 Portland Sunday in Portland to move their record to 1-7-1 on the season. The Ducks felt they should have beaten the Vikings on their home field, but were overmatched by the highly-talented Pilots on Sunday.
On Friday, Oregon outshot Portland State and scored the first goal of the match, but several bad breaks led to the loss. With the score tied 1-1 and 10 minutes left in the contest, Duck goalkeeper Sarah Peters misplayed a 30-yard indirect free kick from PSU’s Jessica Shadle, and the ball trickled through her arms into the goal. Less than half a minute later, the Vikings added another goal on a 12-yard header from Carly Sawhill.
“The other team got a fortunate mistake, and we paid the price for it,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said. “Soccer can be a very cruel game.”
Oregon freshman midfielder Carlie Ashcraft scored the Ducks’ only goal of the weekend 30 minutes into Friday’s contest. Oregon’s lead held for only two minutes, as Portland State’s Karly Larsen booted a 17-yard goal with 15 minutes left in the first half.
On Sunday, Oregon was outmatched by the fourth-ranked Pilots. The Ducks managed only two shots in the game, and only one of those was on goal. On the defensive side, Oregon faced 19 shots, 10 on goal. Peters made seven saves, many from close range.
The Ducks’ defense held Portland off the Harry A. Merlo Field scoreboard for much of the first half, but the high-powered Portland offense finally broke through the Oregon wall with 15 minutes left in the first frame. Portland’s Emily Patterson finished a cross from Lindsey Huie for the goal.
Ten minutes later, Oregon got its only shot on goal of the match, a boot from the left side of the goal that was saved by Portland’s Lauren Arase.
The teams went to half-time with the Pilots leading 1-0, but it didn’t take long for Portland to increase its lead in the second half. Less than two minutes into the second frame, Portland’s Kristen Rogers notched her first goal of the season, a punch-in after a deflected Pilot shot. Five minutes later, Portland scored its third goal to finish the game’s scoring.
The Ducks will head into conference play with their worst preseason record ever. Oregon will face Washington and Washington State — two teams that beat the Ducks by a combined 13-3 in four games over the past two seasons — in Eugene next weekend. Washington is ranked No. 12 in the country by Soccer America magazine, while Washington State isn’t ranked.