In the season finale for both teams, the first 80 minutes were controlled by Oregon State, which took an 1-0 lead in the 29th minute. However, the Ducks scored two goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation to end their season with a win.

It seemed to be a matter of time when Oregon would shoot the ball in the back of the net, leading its Civil War foe in shots on goal 8-3 in the match.

But the clock kept ticking into the 80th minute with the Ducks scoreless.

Then, two minutes later, redshirt junior Maryn Beutler took a shot from 15 yards out, one that finally got past Oregon State senior goalkeeper Melanie Trumbull, who saved six shots in the match.

Both Kyra Fawcett and Taylor Kuroda were credited with an assist on Beutler’s second goal of the season.

Destined for Oregon’s fourth overtime match of the season, and second straight, Marissa Everett had other ideas.

Everett, a freshman from Canyon Lake, California, buried her fourth goal of the season thanks to an assist from midfielder Marlo Sweatman in the 86th minute. Everett led the Ducks with three shots on goal.

In the final four minutes, the Beavers moved players upfield to attacking positions. The counter attacked led to a corner and a final shot on Oregon goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdóttir, who sealed the win with the game-saving save in the 87th minute.

Hinriksdóttir finished with just two saves in the match but defended seven corner kicks.

With the win, the Ducks wrap up their season on a high note and a record of 6-13-0 and 3-8-0 in conference.

Oregon’s next match will be on Friday, November 13, as part of the Pac-12 tournament.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly

For the first time all season, the Ducks have won consecutive games. It just so happens it was against two teams that haven’t beaten Oregon since 2003 and 2004 — Washington and Arizona State — respectively.

Maybe it had to be that way for Oregon to find its rhythm, but regardless, it has found momentum from back-to-back victories. With it, the team has recovered its lost confidence.

“I think we kind of took the losses as they were and decided to have fun, that’s what football is about,” wide receiver Devon Allen said. “I think we are changing to where we’re working hard but also having fun and making sure we’re doing it for the reason we all started doing this.”

The return of quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. has made a significant difference for the offensive unit. His elusiveness and ability to extend a play has caused problems for opposing coverages. But it’s not just Adams causing the change in play.

The receiving unit, though missing Byron Marshall to injury, has become a real threat downfield — especially with a quarterback who can get the ball to them. Bralon Addison, the recent return of Darren Carrington, and a number of other capable players, have taken pressure off of the running back trio of Royce Freeman, Kani Benoit and Taj Griffin.

“You can see everybody in the games excited when someone makes a big play,” Allen said. “It’s just fun to see [a big play,] it’s more fun for us because we’re in the game than it is for coaches and fans.”

On the other side of the ball, the defense’s confidence appears to be rising as well. Tyson Coleman, who’s played in 48 games since 2012, says the coaching staff simplified the defense to clear up miscommunication.

“We got a lot of young guys out there, and it’s not an excuse, but it’s something to be aware of,” Coleman said. “We had to simplify things so that everybody understands. People were on different pages, and now we’re back on the same page.”

With the improved understanding, the defensive backs can play their positions more freely.

“Confidence comes with knowing what you’re doing,” Coleman said. “Say a [cornerback] has no idea what he’s doing, he’s probably not going to make a break and pick a ball. Now dudes know what they’re doing, so they feel comfortable making the break [on the ball] because they know the safety’s over the top or they know the outside backer is coming to their side.”

The result:

“I think we are a lot more confident now and guys know they’re capable,” the senior linebacker said. “Simplifying things and obviously winning games brings confidence to the table.”

Enter Saturday, when Oregon will take on an offensive juggernaut in the Golden Bears, a team that hasn’t beat the Ducks in six years. And meeting them is a team with the most confidence it’s had all season.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly

If Chris Boucher is going to make an impact for the Oregon men’s basketball team, it will have to be this year. The 6-foot-10 forward ,who transferred from junior college, lost a year of eligibility due to a timing issue related with the NCAA — “when the eligibility clock started.” This was first reported by 247sports.com.

The Oregon coaching staff released a statement to The Emerald regarding Boucher’s status:

“After completing his academic requirements at the two junior colleges, it was determined that Chris Boucher currently has one year of eligibility remaining. The coaching staff was aware of this possibility during Chris’ recruitment,” the statement said.

Duck Territory reported that Oregon will likely petition for a fourth season of eligibility for Boucher after the season.

Boucher averaged 22.5 points and 11.8 rebounds last season with Northwest College in Wyoming, earning himself the 2014-15 Spalding NJCAA Division I Player of the Year.

With forward Jorden Bell sidelined to open the season with a foot injury, Boucher’s impact is expected to be immediate. He is starting Tuesday night in the Ducks’ first exhibition against Northwest Christian University.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly

TEMPE, Ariz — It took guts for the Ducks to get the win at Sun Devil Stadium Thursday night. Oregon showed it in its 61-55 triple-overtime win over Arizona State.

The craziness all came after a rather pedestrian first half in which neither team accumulated more than 190 yards. Oregon struggled (1-7) on third downs and the Sun Devils continually blew its scoring opportunities, with ASU kicker Zane Gonzalez missing three field goals in the first half.

But the second half, especially the third quarter, was a shootout. The Sun Devils began the scoring with 14 unanswered points and sat comfortably with a 31-20 lead at one point. Oregon responded quickly with 14 unanswered points of its own, though, via a 100-yard kick return from Charles Nelson and a 62-yard rush from Kani Benoit.

“The huge play was the kick return (Charles Nelson) had,” head coach Mark Helfrich said. “I think he was down, there was a miscommunication on (ASU’s) touchdown pass and he was a part of that. He took that on himself and that really energized him and our team.”

The fourth quarter, which began with the score 34-31 in favor of Oregon, slowed in action but accelerated in drama. After Gonzalez put a field goal through the uprights to tie the game at 34 apiece, the Sun Devils forced a three-and-out that set up a 62-yard scoring drive.

Oregon then found its guts.

With 5:02 remaining in regulation, Oregon had converted on just one third down try all game. But facing third down at  Oregon’s own 34, with 16 yards to gain for a new set of downs, Vernon Adams stepped up in the pocket and threw the ball off his right foot to Royce Freeman, who completed an over-the-shoulder grab to move the chains.

The Ducks were then able to convert two fourth down tries, including a game-saving prayer off a throw from Adams that found the hands of Dwayne Stanford in the end zone that sent the game to overtime.

“Obviously it was a completely different design,” Helfrich said. “Things just broke down or worked out, however you want to look at it.”

Oregon opened overtime with a scoring drive of a single play, another touchdown pass from Adams to Stanford. The Sun Devils needed six plays to equal Oregon’s score.

In double-overtime, the Sun Devils began with the ball and relied on the legs of its quarterback, Mike Bercovici, who ran all 25 yards to the end zone. The Ducks were slowed to a third and three situation on their following possession, but Adams rushed the ball to ASU’s one yard line and set up an easy score from Freeman.

In triple overtime, the Ducks got their third overtime touchdown after a 20-yard touchdown pass to Bralon Addison, who just barely kept one of his feet in bounds. Going for two due to overtime’s rules, the Ducks allowed Addison, a receiver who played quarterback in high school, to throw the ball. The play failed.

ASU began its third overtime drive with a 22-yard pass from Bercovici. They stuck with the pass on first and goal, with Bercovici nearly throwing an interception after the ball was batted away by Reggie Daniels.

His second down throw wouldn’t be so lucky, as sophomore defensive back Arrion Springs reached over ASU receiver Tim White for the interception to seal the game.

“I was going to run it back (to the opposite end zone), but I knew that wouldn’t work with coach Helfrich,” Springs said. “I knew it was coming the whole way – the whole way.”

Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @AndrewBantly

During halftime of Oregon’s Thursday night matchup against Arizona State, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott spoke with the media in the press box of Sun Devils Stadium:

Any comments on Arizona State’s Pat Tillman uniforms?

I think it’s kind of neat and very unusual how (Arizona State) has honored the legacy of a player like Pat Tillman. Every year, I’ve really been impressed with what they do, they’ve kind of taken it to another level this year with the uniforms and a campus-wide focus on it.

Several coaches have expressed opinions on these Thursday night games and kickoff times, how much is the Pac-12 conference involved with possibly adjusting the kickoff times?

There’s actually very little that we can do to adjust it because it’s really baked into our television contracts, starting in 2012 there were a few important adjustments that we made. One of the trade’s we made in that discussion was getting more exposure on ABC and FOX broadcast network, that were exclusive windows. When those games on the ABC or FOX broadcast network nationally, the trade-off is that we agreed to give them an exclusive window, therefor any other games half to go early or late.

The SEC has a transfer policy that won’t allow players to transfer into the conference with serious prior misconduct, has the Pac-12 thought about having those kinds of conversations to adopt something similar?

On Monday I’ve got a meeting with our board of directors, our presidents and chancellors, so we’ve put this on the agenda to discuss. We’ve had a chance to discuss this with out athletic directors and athletics administrators last week, when they were there. We’re going to discuss it.

One of the ongoing national dialogues is that the Pac-12 seems to be a frontrunner to be left out of the playoff this year, is there any need for the conference to politicize the process so to speak?

There’s still so much football left to play, trying to predict how it’s all going to shake out is guess work – it really depends on how our teams do. We got three one-loss teams still, so we’ll see who we see in the (Pac-12) championship. I think I’ll have a better feel for it when we see what kind of shape our teams are in when we get to the championship game at Levi’s Stadium, and we see what it looks like in the other conferences … We clearly have less margin for error because we don’t have any undefeated teams.

In the past, with the BCS system, with only a couple human polls counting in it, there was a sense you had to fight your fight, is there any way to influence the committee with that?

It’s one thing I really like about the new committee structure. I think it’s going to be much more fact based, and the lobbying aspect is really out of the system now. We’ve got committee members who are following our conference and other conferences, in fact we had our first call this week with the two committee members that are following our conference. I feel very good about the process, I have a lot of confidence in the process, there really is no need to lobby because you know the 13 people that are on the committee that are going to be discussing, making their decision, have seen all the facts and we’ve had a chance to communicate directly to them.

Do you think that helps take away some of the perceived East coast bias?

Yea, a big improvement. You don’t have to worry about are they seeing the games, not seeing the games, what’s the perception, what’s the bias. They’re seeing all the games, studying it, and I don’t think it’s based on perception or bias.

Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @andrewbantly.

For a team that buys in to the ‘Win The Day’ mentality, Pac-12 championship talks will seem premature.

But following Oregon’s 26-20 win over Washington, that’s exactly what some stars of this Ducks football team had on their minds, even though the Ducks are more than two games behind Pac-12 North-leading Stanford.

In Seattle, a reporter asked if the Ducks could run the table, a question that was leading and equally premature in the first place.

“I think we can,” Adams said. “You know, we just got to clean up the little mistakes, the little baby mistakes, the penalties, continue not to turn the ball over and be better on third downs. I think we do that and I think we have a good shot at it.”

Defensive end DeForest Buckner echoed a similar thought after the game.

“The win is a foundation for the second half of the season. Obviously our goal is to win out, so we have the opportunity to be one of the best teams up there (in the Pac-12 standings),” said Buckner.

A six-point win over Washington – a team thought to finish in the bottom half of the conference before the season – and Oregon is ready to run the table?

The Ducks played well. Give them credit. They protected the football, the secondary kept Washington’s receivers in check and Oregon had a quarterback who threw the ball with some authority.

A good foundational restart, perhaps.

But a momentum boost to then win out? That seems foolish. Senior linebacker Rodney Hardrick agrees.

“The way we look at it, it’s each day, each practice, each meeting,” Hardrick said to me after Tuesday’s practice. “So [we] really don’t care about anything that’s going on, any expectations or anything like that. We focus on what we need to do each day.”

Sure, Adams and Buckner — and the whole Oregon football team — felt good after the win and were likely excited to move forward – they’re human. And the reporter was trying to exploit that emotion in his or her recap – we’re human.

The win needs to be taken for what it is: A step in the right direction.

“[The win] doesn’t really change much, but guys are more enthusiastic, have a lot more energy,” Hardrick said. “Things are going easier. People are doing their jobs correctly.”

And that’s what they’ll need to do to get by Arizona State, California, No. 8 Standord, USC and Oregon State to complete just the regular season. Obviously, it can’t be ignored that there is more than a month of football left before the Pac-12 Championship on Dec. 8 is played.

Focus in on the Sun Devils and you’ll see a team in an eerily similar situation. Both teams are 4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Pac-12, coming off a bye week, got routed at home to a conference foe, and most importantly, can’t afford another conference loss.

So, if there’s one thing Oregon cannot have going in to Tempe, it’s too much confidence and an expectation to return to Eugene with a win.

While I’m not forecasting such ideas, if the Ducks have any shot of returning to Santa Clara to defend their title, they first have to win today.

Contact Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly

Oregon football head coach was available to media on Tuesday for the final time prior to the team’s matchup against Arizona State in Tempe, Arizona. He spoke about the Sun Devils defense and some of his key offensive playmakers.

Last week marked the first time Bralon Addison and Darren Carrington played together in a game, and Byron Marshall is out this year. How hard has it been to gain some type of continuity amongst your receivers?

That’s interesting, I didn’t realize what you just said. It’s just kind of the reality of modern football, whether it’s injuries or whatever, having to plug and play and still play at an extremely high level.

You’ve talked about how Addison can do a lot for you offensively, with Carrington now in the lineup, does that allow you to get creative with Addison on where you put him in the offense?

Maybe. Yes and no, you’re still developing. We got some guys still working their way, whether it’s Darren or Devon (Allen) or all these other guys who are working their way to a different percentage of game snaps.

What’s the biggest difference in your team leading up to kickoff before the Washington game and now Arizona State?

I like how we worked, I think our guys have worked hard. We’re working smarter, working more efficiently. They had a really good day today as far as confidence of communication, which is a huge deal against these guys in every phase. They blitz from everywhere, and you have to identify the look then communicate it.

Why is saying ASU is a blitz heavy team an understatement?

Compared to the teams we’ve played, they are much, much higher percentage than is typical, and that’s their deal. They want to get behind and [create a] second and long, and then play with those looks and coverage out of it if they get ahead. You have to be aggressive and patient simultaneously, because they’re going to hit us five yards deep in the backfield – that’s going to happen. But the next play we have to be aggressive, we have to trust (the system).

Most of your players from Arizona are starters or key contributors, how much of a hand do you have in recruiting that state being at ASU before? 

Arizona is a great state to recruit. I think it’s a little over-recruited because guys like to go down there to play golf in the spring. It’s good football, a lot of really good coaches, programs. Obviously the population is significant. We love going down there.

Contact Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly

A year ago, the Oregon men’s club water polo team fell just shy of taking a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah for the national tournament. The Ducks lost 12-11 to Oregon State in regulation.

This past weekend, the Ducks traveled to Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis for the Northwest Regional tournament after finishing the season 6-2. Its opening opponent of the tournament was the same team that cut Oregon’s season short one year ago, the Beavers.

“It was an all or nothing game,” Colton Saunders, a senior and captain of the Oregon men’s club water polo team said. “That was the hardest game we had to play to advance [to nationals].”

For club teams at the University of Washington, Washington State, Oregon State and Oregon, a single loss in the tournament cost the price of a ticket to Santa Cruz, California to play at  for the national title.

The Ducks entered as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, while the Beavers ranked No. 3 of the four teams. The Huskies ranked No. 1 and took care of the Cougars in their opening game, awaiting the winner of the Oregon schools.

Down by three, the Ducks scored three goals in the final three minutes to tie OSU at 14 before the end of regulation. The teams then played two three minute periods in overtime, but both teams tallied just a single goal and needed double overtime to decide a victor.

“It was back and forth all game,” Saunders said. “Constant battling.”

In double OT, golden goal – or sudden death – rules apply. Within a minute, Oregon State scored. The Ducks season ended right then and right there.

“It wasn’t the way we wanted to go out,” Saunders said, adding that his water polo career is likely now over. “It wasn’t the way I wanted to go out.”

The Beavers went on to beat the Huskies in the regional final, stamping their ticket to California.

The Ducks season, Saunders says, should have been more successful. The team had two incoming goalies entering the season – one with Division I experience. Neither panned out.

They then used Russell Blockhus, a field player, in the net. Blockhus had to miss time with an injury sustained a week earlier, so Randy Kenyon, another field player, volunteered to play in goal.

Overall, this season “was about overcoming the adversity of losing players throughout the season, and unforunately we couldn’t over come that adversity.”

The team, according to the team’s captain, struggled in “game knowledge, size, skill level and depth” compared to previous years.

Though Oregon finished third in the Northwest region, he says “this team gave 110-percent this season” and is “incredibly proud to have played with these guys.”

Now, Saunders and three other players depart the team with graduation – nearly half of the starting seven.

“I think next year will be a challenge, but the cool thing about seniors leaving means it gives the young guys the opportunity to step up ,” Saunders said. “It could turn out to be a very successful year for Ducks.”

“We will just have to wait and see.”

Contact Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly

The Oregon women’s soccer team began its final road trip with a match that seemed destined for extra time, but a 88th-minute goal by Arizona’s Haley Silverberg sealed the outcome for the Wildcats as the Ducks fell 1-2 in Tuscon.

From the get-go, Arizona worked Oregon goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdóttir, tallying four shots in the opening eight minutes, none of which reached the back of the net. The Ducks responded with five straight shots of their own. The game remained scoreless.

With two minutes remaining in the half, Arizona’s Gabi Stoian led the ball to Paige Crouch who did enough to get it past Hinriksdóttir. Then, with just 13 seconds remaining before halftime, Abby morrow assisted Kyra Fawcett for the freshman’s third goal of the season.

The score remained 1-1 through most of the second half, with both teams creating worthy scoring opportunities. Neither cashed in on those opportunities.

With two minutes to go, Silverberg went on the attack from her defensive position and booted a 35-yard try that thrusted in for a goal.

“I was going to hang back and play more defense but then I saw a chance so I took it,” Silverberg said per Arizona’s athletic department. “I told myself to keep it low and drive it, and luckily I did that.”

Oregon (4-11, 1-6) has now lost five consecutive games and sits at the bottom of the Pac-12 standings. Three of the five losses have come by a single goal’s margin.

“That’s a tough way to end a game. I thought we played well on and off the ball tonight,” Oregon head coach Kat Mertz said after the game to goducks.com. “We moved the ball well and created goal-scoring opportunities. There was a lot of fight in our Ducks tonight.

Oregon concludes its final road trip of the regular season in the desert against Arizona State on Sunday, October 25 at 11 a.m. in Tempe.

Contact Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly

-The Oregon men’s basketball team added Phil Richmond to the team’s official roster on Monday. Richmond, son of former NBA All-Star Mitch Richmond who played for current Oregon head coach Dana Altman at Kansas State, is a 6-foot-4 guard from Calabasas, California. He worked as a student manger for the team last season.

-Oregon football offensive coordinator Scott Frost said after practice Monday the team is looking to find consistency at quarterback. This is after two games of mixing Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie at the position during Vernon Adams’ absence.

–Catch up with Gordon Reed, current president of the club Squash team. Reed’s goals include reaching nationals this upcoming season, four years after he and two others brought the club sport to the University of Oregon.

-After their loss to Washington State at Autzen Stadium, Oregon will try to bounce back in Seattle against the Huskies. See how the teams stack up heading into Saturday’s game.

-The Oregon acrobatics and tumbling team will enjoy a more travel-friendly schedule this upcoming. The Emerald’s Joseph Hoyt spoke with head coach Chelsea Shaw to discuss the advantage.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewBantly