The Oregon Ducks drew 2-2 against interstate rival, Oregon State, in a consistent downpouring of rain at Papé Field for the final game of the 2022 season on Friday night.
Oregon applied steady offensive pressure through the opening 10 minutes. A majority of the attacking plays were funneled through the sidelines by Oregon’s wingbacks, Anna Emperadar and Chai Cortez.
“They’re natural wingbacks,” head coach Graeme Abel said. “Chai is an attacking outside back. Emperador is the exact same type, wants to fly forward. Those guys can provide attacking quality for us and we’ve got good defenders on the outside that can cover them when they go.”
Zoe Hasenauer was in the right place at the right time to put the Ducks up 1-0. Hasenauer hit a ricocheted ball, from seven yards out, past Beaver defenders and into the back of the net in the 28th minute.
“I was trying to get it earlier in the year, but I’ll definitely take it this game,” Hasenauer said about scoring her first goal of the season.
A corner kick from Oregon State’s Reese Moffatt found the head of Sawyer Service at the back post. Moffatt put the ball in the dirt and past Leah Freeman to draw the game level at 1-1.
The Beavers’ second goal, in the 73rd minute, came from a blistering counter attack after Hasenauer rang the OSU crossbar. McKenna Martinez put Oregon State ahead 2-1 with a strike from the top left corner of the Duck penalty box.
Alice Barbieri celebrated with her teammates after scoring a deflected shot to pull the game level, 2-2, for the Ducks with eight minutes left in the season. Both teams pressed for the winning goal to no avail.
“It had a big impact on the game,” Haseneaur said about the rain. “We like to put the ball down and play. We had to be way more focused on our touches. Every game we have against them is in the rain for some reason. It’s a fun rivalry thing to get down and dirty in the mud against them.”
The rain and rivalry led to a physical match. Both teams had a combined 24 fouls. The physicality led the official, Josh Madison, to make inconsistent calls.
Abel spoke to the team at halftime about not getting injured or letting emotions sway the team’s performance.
Fans, families and teammates honored 10 seniors before their final dance at Papé; Chai Cortez, True Dydasco, Kess Elmore, Madeline Gravante, Zoe Hasenauer, Bel Rolley, Lexi Romero, Caitlin Shaw and Croix Soto.
“It was awesome,” Hasenauer said about her family being at the game. “My aunt and both my sisters are here. I haven’t seen them in a long time and it’s their last time seeing me play in this uniform. There’s just so many emotions and I’m happy I could play for them.”
A lot of freshmen got playing time this season, Abel said. The underclassmen got a lot of experience which is really good for the future of the program. His praise tonight was for the seniors.
“The senior group leaves something behind for us,” Abel said. “It’s always difficult with a coaching change and those guys led by example. You saw it tonight. They kept on fighting and got us back into the game.”
