After falling a game short of a bid to the national tournament, the Oregon men’s club soccer team is disappointed but hoping to rebound with another league title in the Oregon Collegiate Soccer League.
The Ducks are certainly on the right track after going 2-0 in their weekend series against University of Portland and Lewis and Clark.
“We wanted to go to nationals, but this is the next best thing,” senior team coordinator Raoni Demnitz said.
The team began its weekend series with a commanding 2-0 win over University of Portland on Nov. 6 in Eugene. It ended on an equally satisfying note in a 3-2 victory over Lewis and Clark the following night in Portland.
Having to travel to Portland for an early afternoon game the following day with only 12 players was a difficult task. Yet despite having only one substitute, the Ducks were still able to come out on top in a back-and-forth match with the Pioneers.
“(Saturday) was definitely a battle,” sophomore Ian Salisbury said of the team’s win over Lewis and Clark. “It wasn’t the prettiest win, it was pretty bad weather, and we had pretty short numbers. We all just came out against the elements, and we put out a lot of effort.”
Trent Hamilton put the Ducks up first when he was able to gain possession in front of the net and lift a shot to the upper right corner of the goal in the 25th minute. The Pioneers came back to tie it before halftime putting the Ducks back on their heels. Sophomore Gerald Buxton regained the lead for the Ducks in the 65th minute when he knocked home a penalty kick.
Lewis and Clark then tied the game, but the Ducks once again bounced back. In the 80th minute, Ross Nishio played a desperation ball in front of the net and Chris Turney found the ball and the back of the net from 12 feet out for the game winner.
“We were obviously all a little tired since we played last night,” Demnitz said. “But that wasn’t a problem because we knew if we played with the same intensity and same style (as the night before) that we would beat them.”
In their first match of the weekend series against University of Portland, Oregon maintained heavy ball position but struggled to get on the board. It wasn’t until the second half that the Ducks continued attack finally cracked the Pilots’ defense.
It was freshman Daley Stevens who put the Ducks on the board midway through the second half when he was able to capitalize on a steal and drive the ball to the bottom right corner of the net. Oregon tallied its second goal just a few minutes later when Stevens knocked down a cross and found Ian McNaughton, who was able to slip the ball through heavy traffic and into the goal.
The Ducks, who fell just short of nationals on Oct. 24 when they suffered a 3-0 loss to Wayne State, recognize that losing regionals was disappointing, but are taking it in stride.
“We were definitely really disappointed that we didn’t go any further,” Buxton said. “We took a week off after the loss but this weekend we kind of put it behind us. Regionals was our emphasis but it’s definitely our goal now to win the league title.”
The Ducks have three more games in the season, with matches against Southern Oregon University, Portland state and Oregon State left to play. They need just one more win to clinch the league championship, a feat that Demnitz is confident the Ducks will achieve.
“Those last three games we’re going to do our best and probably beat them to win the league title,” Demnitz said. “If we just keep up the same level of play I don’t think anybody will challenge us.”
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