There were no goals to write home about, but it wasn’t hard for Coach Kat Mertz to find positives after the Ducks finished off a scoreless draw with their in-state rivals.

“We’ve been focusing on our team shape defensively,” Mertz said, “So you hold a Pac-12 team scoreless, it’s awesome but of course we want to take care of the ball and put it away.”

The Ducks had some chances, most notably a first half shot that ricocheted off the side post, but they weren’t able to get much on frame, nor did they convert on any of their five corners. It was the second straight scoreless match for the Ducks, who previously dropped a 1-0 exhibition decision to Washington, but the mood is decidedly optimistic in Mertz first spring in charge.

Oregon State had the better of possession in the first half but spent almost no time in their attacking third in the second 45 thanks to strong defense from the Ducks and keeper Abby Steele’s willingness to challenge through balls.

“Abby’s a tremendous goalkeeper,” Mertz said. “She’s got great feet, great confidence so it’s nice for us to be able to play a higher backline.”

Not only did it help the backline, but Steele’s willingness to come out of her area nearly led to a Ducks goal as she played a pass from almost the center circle to a waiting Kiyomi Cook but Cook’s low cross didn’t find a teammate.

Oregon now travels to Portland for a May 4 match against the Pilots before closing the spring season in Ashland with a neutral site match against UC Davis.