A crowd of 919 fans packed Papé Field on an early fall night as the University of Oregon, with only 10 players for two thirds of the game, lost 3-1 against its toughest test, the nation’s No. 1 team and undefeated Pac-12 rival, the UCLA Bruins on Thursday.
The Ducks looked to continue their unbeaten conference streak in front of almost 1,000 roaring Oregon fans. They faced former Duck Ally Cook. Cook, a familiar face in different colors, was the top scorer for Oregon last season before transferring to UCLA in the offseason.
With a Duck defender on her hip, UCLA’s Sofia Cook showed her strength by managing a first touch shot from the center of the Oregon box. Cook bent the ball around Leah Freeman’s outstretched hands and into the back of the Oregon net. Cook put the Bruins up 1-0 in the 24th minute.
In the 29th minute, Leah Freeman was forced to come out of her goal and make a tactical foul a yard outside her box, taking a lone breaking Bruin, Reilyn Turner, off her feet. Freeman was shown an immediate red card and will receive a one game suspension.
“She made the decision to go,” Coach Graeme Abel said. “You stick with the decision and don’t second guess yourself. Leah’s bailed us out so many times. She’s a split second from getting that decision right. It’s great she makes the mistake now, not in the future.”
Filling in for her missing captain, freshman Julia Richards stepped between the posts for the 10-women Ducks side. Richards recorded four saves and played awesome in her first appearance, according to Abel.
UCLA’s Sunshine Fontes couldn’t have picked up and placed the ball in a better position for her free kick following the red card. Fontes’ right foot rocketed the ball around the Duck wall and into the top right corner of Richard’s goal, putting UCLA up 2-0.
The Ducks had difficulty getting the ball out of their side in the opening half. The Bruins controlled possession with constant pressure and pacey passing on the outside of Oregon’s box. The outwomaned Oregon failed to record a shot in the first half. The Bruins managed 12 in the opening 45 minutes.
The Ducks showed fight in the 61st minute as Anjanae Respass’s strength powered her through the middle of the UCLA defense. Respass layed a pass to the left wing for Zoe Hasenauer, who lofted the ball across the face of the Bruin goal to Alice Barbieri waiting on the far post. Barbieri buried it into the back of the Bruin net for her first goal as a Duck.
“If you came into the game not knowing who is who,” Abel said, “you ask who’s the No. 1 team in the country, there’s a good portion that we outplayed them with 10 players. All credit to our kids. They didn’t wilt again. They came out, fought and got after it.”
Kali Trevithick’s well-placed goal in the 80th minute from outside the Oregon box put the nail in the Ducks’ coffin. Trevithick put UCLA up 3-1.
“They got the third goal with us getting tired,” Abel said. “That’s understandable. We chased it and we chased it. For that period of time we were clearly the better team.”
The constant possession and passing of UCLA forced the Ducks to play primarily in their defending third, zapping Oregon’s energy. The scoreline doesn’t reflect the effort of Duck defenders Anna Emepeador, Croix Soto, Anna Phillips and Bel Rolley, only allowing five of the 27 Bruin shots to be on goal.
The Ducks will continue their conference run against No. 20 USC at Papé Field Sunday at noon.
