Clearly, away games are not the strong point for the Oregon women’s
soccer team. Or at least they haven’t been for the past two weeks.
Oregon (5-4 overall) was shut out 5-0 for the second time in three
days on Sunday against Cal State Fullerton (6-3). In the Ducks’ third
weekend on the road, Oregon was also shunned 5-0 by Loyola Marymount
in Los Angeles on Friday.
The Ducks began the season undefeated with five wins, three of them
coming at Papé Field, yet in the past two weekends on the
road, Oregon has lost four straight, all by shutout. Oregon faced
then-No. 4 Texas A&M and Southern Methodist University over the
Sept. 19 weekend and lost by a combined 6-0 score in the two games in
Dallas.
Sunday marked the fourth straight game where Oregon failed to put one
in the back of the net. Cal State Fullerton coasted to its first win
over a Pacific-10 Conference team in five years, snapping a six-game
losing streak.
The recurring shutouts are not a good sign for the Oregon offense,
which looked to be rejuvenated earlier with the return of redshirt
sophomore Nicole Garbin, who missed last season with an anterior
cruciate ligament injury.
Sunday “was a frustrating day,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said.
“We actually played pretty well in the first half.”
The Ducks put up a strong front against the Titans as they released
three shots in the first 15 minutes, all within seven yards of the
goal. Yet two of the goals missed wide right and the third was
blocked by a Fullerton defender.
The Titans saved their energy for the end of the first half by
converting twice in the final three minutes before halftime. The
Titans continued their rout of the Ducks by taking a 3-0 lead just
four minutes into the second half.
“After the third goal, which came early in the second half, I think
it rattled our players,” Steffen said. “We lost our concentration
from then on.”
Cal State Fullerton scored its final two goals within four minutes of
one another toward the latter part of the second half.
For the Ducks, redshirt freshmen Sabrina DeMonte and Andrea Valadez
each recorded two shots. Midfielders Erin Engelhardt and Cristan Higa
each one of Oregon’s two shots on goal.
In goal, redshirt sophomore Domenique Lainez recorded one save while
allowing five goals. Senior goalkeeper Mary Etter made a five-minute
appearance at the end, but allowed no goals and recorded no saves.
For the Titans, senior Laura Janke took care of business, recording
two saves while playing the full 90 minutes. Janke, who was recently
honored as the Big West Conference’s Co-Player of the Week, tops the
career list for the Titans after recording her 11th shutout.
Oregon, which won two games earlier in the month in California,
returns to the confines of Papé Field this week, but must face
defending national champion Portland on Friday at 7 p.m. The Ducks
then take on Weber State on Sunday in a day match before heading out
again on the road for Pac-10 play.
“It was a frustrating weekend, but we need to bounce back because
Portland won’t be any easier this weekend,” Steffen said.