The Oregon Ducks soccer team took to the road Friday in an attempt to turn their win against USC into a streak with a win against the Utah Utes but inevitably came up short. The loss put them at 6-7-2 overall and 1-4-1 in the Pac-12, not a record to be proud of.
Oregon came out with energy, as per usual, but eventually Utah proved to be too tough an opponent. The Utes struck first with a breakaway goal in the 15th minute by Katie Taylor. Taylor took off down the pitch, putting defenders on their heels as she blew past them, then shot just inside the left corner of the box.
Shortly after, Kira Wagoner netted her first collegiate goal off a rebound shot from Bri Pugh.
The Turning Point. The Ducks went into halftime tied at 1 and feeling once again as though they were hanging in a game with a respectable opponent. However, in the second half the speed of the Utes combined with the cold and rainy weather proved to be too much for the Ducks to overcome.
“Utah came out and played hard from the get go,” head coach Tara Erickson told GoDucks.com after the game. “They got an early goal and it was a little bit of a wake-up call for some players. We were trying to adjust to the conditions a little bit. The field was wet and we haven’t really seen that in our season so far. It was good to get the equalizer and to go into halftime 1-1.”
In the second half, despite the strong defensive play that has come to be expected of the Ducks, the breaks didn’t fall in favor of Oregon with the second goal coming off a free kick that bounced off of defender Lauren Thompson and into the back of the net.
The third goal came courtesy of Kaycee Buckley, and was essentially the final blow. The two-game lead was insurmountable.
On The Horizon. The Ducks will enjoy ample time of as they have Sunday off from play this week. As hard as wins are to come by in the competitive Pac-12, the Ducks will try their hand at acquiring a second conference victory next Friday against Arizona and Arizona State on Sunday at Pape Field, a venue that has shown to be kind to the Ducks.