In their first conference win, the Oregon women’s soccer team was led by ShayLee Miner who scored the lone goal in the game for the Ducks 1-0 victory over Arizona.
In the 60th minute, the freshman Miner was all alone in front the of the Arizona back line and took her shot on goal. Though the ball was saved by the goal post, it rolled to the left where Miner followed up her shot and took another that Arizona goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman couldn’t get to. This was Miner’s third goal of the season, which makes her the leading scorer for the Oregon Ducks.
“It bounced off so I followed my shot and was lucky enough to get it in,” Miner said. “It’s nice to get that goal, it feels great. I know our whole team just feels great.”
Oregon starting keeper Abby Steele was superb in this one, not allowing the Arizona offense to beat her. She ended the game with four saves but the last 10 minutes were a stressful time for Oregon fans as Arizona twice hit powerful shots that rattled the crossbar. Steele would then be in position for both shots to recover the ball and stop the Wildcats’ attack.
After the Friday night loss to Arizona State where the Ducks only could get seven shots in the entire game, the Oregon offense had several opportunities to score in this game. It took 14 shots on goal until Kaufman would finally give up the winning goal from Miner. The Ducks finished the game with 19 shots and had seven corners.
“It was nice for us to get numbers in forward and we had a couple opportunities and I thought we could have put another one away,” Mertz said after the game.
The Oregon Ducks came out slow in the first half but really left that in the locker room at halftime and played completely different in the second. Good passes, which weren’t completed in the first, accompanied the high-energy second half.
In the 67th minute, Oregon fans had some concern for star player Bri Pugh who left the field with an injury. She walked off the field under her own power and would return later in the game but showed signs of discomfort. Oregon head coach Kat Mertz said she is not concerned.
“No, she’s okay,” Mertz said when asked if Pugh was injured. “It’s her birthday so we’re glad we got a win.”
Mertz then added, “She’s a competitor, she’s going to shake things off, she’ll come back ready.”
Playing through the discomfort, Pugh had a great offensive game. She was running all over the field and setting up her teammates as well as taking shots of her own. She sent a great cross in the 17th minute while running full speed, but Arizona defended it well and nothing was made of the cross. Pugh also sent a powerful shot in the 82nd minute where it beat the keeper, but unfortunately for the Ducks, it hit the crossbar and the threat was gone.
Noteworthy:
– Through 13 games this season, Oregon has allowed just two goals in the first half.
– The Ducks wore pink accessories such as socks and shoes in support of breast cancer awareness month.