In the final regular season game, with a home crowd of 1,204 — the ninth largest recorded crowd — Oregon soccer shut out Oregon State 2-0 on senior night. Senior Marissa Everett returned to the starting line for the first time since her injury against Washington on Sept. 30 and scored both of the Ducks’ goals.
“[Everett] had an unbelievable practice yesterday and I was like, ‘OK, she’s back; she’s ready,’” head coach Kat Mertz said. “She came out here and got on the end of some services and created and worked extremely hard on the ball, but most importantly, off the ball.”
After a scoreless 34 minutes, Oregon took the lead with a goal from Everett. Freshman Zoe Hasenauer found the senior forward at the top of the box to strike home a left-footed shot. And again 15 minutes into the second half, senior Bayley Bruner, who secured the win in last week’s overtime game against Arizona, passed to Everett in the box, who, with a one-touch shot, secured the Ducks’ 2-0 lead and gave the senior her eighth goal on the season.
“That’s the way a senior day is supposed to feel and that’s the way it’s supposed to go,” said Mertz.
Hasenauer, who led the Ducks in assists this season, didn’t start a game for the first time at Oregon, but just three minutes into her time on the field, she earned her fifth assist on the season. Despite three shots tonight, one on goal, and 34 on the season, the true freshman remains scoreless in her inaugural season.
“I really wanted to score tonight,” said Hasenauer. “But I’ve been trying to create assists and stuff for my teammates, and it was really great to give Marissa a goal because it was her last game possibly.”
Despite losing 2-0, the Beavers managed 14 shots, two more than the Ducks; but with redshirt senior goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir’s four saves Oregon State was unable to get on the board.
In the 24th minute, Oregon State managed two shots in a scrum in Oregon’s box. Oregon State’s Diana Santiago took a shot which came off the crossbar and rebounded to Kaillen Fried for a shot just over the crossbar.
In the second half, Santiago earned her third and fourth shots, both on goal, within a minute of each other. The Beavers were unable to score though as, coincidentally, Hinriksdottir earned her third and fourth saves of the night. The redshirt senior tipped a shot from Santiago over the top of crossbar, and just a minute later, saved another.
“When you play in the Civil War, you throw out all statistics. It’s all about who wants it more, grit and just all-out attitude,” said Everett. “I think we came out today with all those boxes checked; every single person here wanted it and we got the result.”
The Ducks will learn on Monday Nov. 5 whether or not they will make it into the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s definitely tear-jerking thinking that this could be the last time we ever walk out here for a game day,” said Everett.
Follow Sierra Webster on Twitter @WebsterSierraE
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