Anna Simmons opened her senior season with a performance that set the tone early —  and the Big Ten recognized it.

Simmons emphasized before Saturday’s game that setting the standard early was a priority for the Ducks.

“We want to start off with a bang,” Simmons said. “We really want to go hard. And personally, for me, this is my last year. So really just soaking in everything, being super grateful for everything too.”

The senior captain midfielder did exactly that, scoring four times and earning Big Ten Midfielder of the Week honors after leading the Ducks to a thrilling 12-11 overtime victory against Arizona State University.

With Oregon closing regulation on a 6-0 scoring run, Simmons netted the final two goals to force overtime. Then, with 15 seconds remaining in sudden death, she converted a free-position shot for the comeback win.

“So Anna, so confident,” head coach Jessica Dummond said of Anna’s stellar goal. “To be able to walk on that field as a senior knowing you can get the job done … That’s something I said to her. We’re going into overtime … you can finish this game, go do it.”

Simmons finished with four goals while going 2/2 on free-position attempts. She also recorded five draw controls, four ground balls and two caused turnovers. After just one game, she is tied for fifth in the Big Ten with eight steals and is one of 14 conference players to score four or more goals, joined by teammate Gabby Santucci.

Simmons’ night didn’t begin smoothly as she took a hard fall early on but refused to let the hit slow her down. 

“Yeah I think it just lights a fire under my butt a little bit,” Simmons said. “Big hits are going to happen, but that means you’re playing hard … I just kind of want to go back and show that I’m strong, show that I can continue to play through big hits like that.”