It was nearly ninety degrees at kickoff of the first game of the University of Oregon Women’s 2022 Soccer Season against the New Mexico State Aggies on Thursday night at Papé field.
Callan Harrington scored the first goal of the season after a slick diagonal pass across the box from True Dydasco put Harrington one on one with Aggie keeper Mackenna Gottschalk in the 41st minute. Harrington gave the Ducks a goal lead at the end of the first half.
After a year off due to injury, Harrington said she was ready for her opportunity to come out guns blazing.
“I’m just super hungry,” Harrington said. “I know the team is as well. I think this is our year to make the NCAA tournament.”
After a few missed opportunities, freshman Anjanae Respass put a bow on the game with a 90th minute ricocheted go-ahead goal. She put the Ducks up 2-0. Respass tells herself to always follow the ball after a shot, and it paid off in the closing minutes of the game.
“I probably should have had some goals earlier,” Respass said. “My teammates kept encouraging me to keep going and get my first goal out of the way. I’ve been waiting for this moment, so there were some first game jitters out there.”
The Duck’s offense started the season firing. A pair of Chai Cortez corners threatened the Aggies goal in the opening four minutes. The first was cleared off the line in the third minute and second ended with Gottschalk saving a shot from Trinity Morales.
Senior Lexi Romero had nothing but an open net after Respass won the ball on the wing and crossed it into the box for her fellow forward in the eighth minute. Romero tripped on the ball, which was scooped up by Gottschalk.
“We can’t leave those kinds of chances on the table,” Coach Graeme Abel said. “ When we connected, we looked good. It showed that we hadn’t played a game yet. There were a lot of learning moments to take away and move forward.”
Both teams had goal scoring opportunities early in the first half. New Mexico State’s Sydnee Johnson pace and footwork gave the Ducks problems down the left wing. Johnson finished the game with five shots, one of which forced Leah Freeman to make a diving save to her left.
Not yet in mid-season fitness, both teams had to battle through cramps. Even with mid-match water breaks the effects of the heat on the players was obvious. Abel said that the team hasn’t had a ton of 11-on-11 playing time, so it’s very taxing on the legs.
Abel was not shy about making substitution. 18 different Ducks registered playing time throughout the match.
“It’s about the quality,” Abel said. “Not that we didn’t have it in the past, but we’ve now got players with technical quality. They’re athletic and we’ve got 100% confidence in those players to put them in during big moments when the game is tight.”
Oregon’s dynamic counter attack utilized quick passes and long overhead through balls to create clear chances the entire game. The Ducks could only find the net twice with 17 shots, eight of them on New Mexico State’s goal.
The Ducks will host the University of San Francisco State at Papé field on Sunday Aug. 21 at 2 p.m.
“We’ve been waiting for this game,” Harrington said about Sunday’s game . “We’re excited to go out there and show them that the draw last year was a mistake.”
