After 110 minutes of game time, the Oregon women’s soccer team left Papé Field with a 1-1 tie against the San Francisco Dons.
“Sure, a tie is disappointing,” junior forward Bri Pugh said after the match, “but we came back and we have to be proud of that and look at the positives and just keep moving forward from there.”
Oregon’s journey on the comeback trail began in the 49th minute, when Dons forward Lexie Krueger perfectly placed a left-footed shot in the back left corner of the net. That goal was especially painful for the Ducks because it came directly after a failed clear from Oregon’s Achijah Berry.
However, in the 78th minute, redshirt sophomore defender Reilley Moore was able to come up big for Oregon. Junior midfielder Lilly Archer kicked from the left corner on the play, placing it right in the middle of a large scrum in front of the net. The ball bounced back towards midfield, taking a hop in the middle of the 18-yard box and bouncing right to Moore. Moore promptly rocketed a left-footed kick over the goalkeeper’s outstretched arms and barely under the crossbar, straight into the back of the net.
The goal wasn’t just a first for the Ducks in the match, it was a first for Moore.
“It was really cool to see her get that goal, especially after not scoring her whole college career,” Pugh said. “I’m really proud of her.”
Moore’s goal ended a frustrating drought for the Ducks, who had several close chances at scores throughout the match.
Oregon had opportunities throughout the match that they just couldn’t convert on, especially Pugh, who had one of her shots deflected in the first half. That scenario that was painfully familiar the entire night for Oregon, who had most of their shots in the second half.
“It’s a frustrating game,” Pugh said. “You play 90 minutes and how many shots do you get on goal that don’t go in? It’s frustrating, but you just can’t let it get to you.”
Pugh, who had a team-high 25 shots on goal going into Friday’s match, was aggressive all night, almost to her detriment on one play.
In the 56th minute, Pugh and a San Francisco defender both sprinted towards each other going for the ball. The defender got to the ball first and kicked it hard off of Pugh’s head. To make matters worse, Pugh was called for a hand ball directly after getting hit. She was visibly shaken up, walking gingerly after the hand ball call.
“That one hurt,” she said, “but, whatever. It’s fine. I feel fine.”
Both Pugh and head coach Kat Mertz had positives to take away for tonight’s match, with both noting that the team was able to come back from down a goal and score on a set piece.
“We were getting a lot of corners,” Mertz said, “so it was nice to be able to score on a set piece.”
Friday marked Oregon’s last non-conference match of the season. Mertz said she looks at the season in two different segments, and the first segment (the nonconference schedule) is now a thing of the past. With Friday’s match done with, Oregon is getting ready for the second segment: Pac-12 play, which begins on September 26 at home against Washington State.
“Now,” Mertz said, “the season starts over.”