Junior power forward Ruthy Hebard has been bombarded with ticket requests ever since the summer, when she learned that she and the No. 3 Oregon women’s basketball team would start its season in her hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska.

“I can’t wait,” said Hebard, who was home for about a month over the summer. “People came up to me all the time saying things like, ‘I can’t wait to see you. We’re going to get tickets.’ I’m pretty excited.”

Because she is the only Duck with family in Alaska, Hebard has been granted about 25 tickets to give away to friends and family. It’s rare for players from outside the area to be able to play back home, but the Ducks planned this one for Hebard.  

“Most coaches try to get their players from the outside area home for a game,” Graves said. “Ruthy is really important to our program, so I thought it was important for us to get her back home.”

Graves scheduled Hebard’s homecoming game over a phone call with Alaska Fairbanks’ new head coach, Kerri Nakamoto.

Jessie Craig, Hebard’s high school head coach, signed on as an assistant coach for Alaska Fairbanks in the summer of 2017. Hebard credits Craig with teaching her much about being a better person and athlete.

“I can’t wait to play against her and hopefully talk to her after the game.” Hebard said.

A dominant 6-foot-4 force in the paint, Hebard held team-highs in total blocked shots, average rebounds per game and was ranked second in the NCAA shooting 66 percent from the field last season. As just a sophomore last year, she won the Katrina McClain award for the nation’s top power forward.

Perhaps her most impressive accomplishment was an NCAA record she set last season, scoring 33 consecutive baskets over the course of four games.

“I never pictured myself as talented or anything, but I’m really happy that this school and my teammates have shaped me into who I am,” Hebard said. “It’s going to be great to go home and show everyone how I got here and who the people around me are who push me.”

Hebard looks forward to having dinner with her family and relaxing at Chena Hot Springs — Alaska’s most popular natural hot springs located about an hour outside of Fairbanks.

For the rest of the team, however, they have been asking for Hebard’s advice on how to pack for the freezing Alaskan temperatures, forecasted for a high of 10 degrees for Tuesday’s game.

“I’m super excited for her,” junior point guard Sabrina Ionescu said. “I know she doesn’t get to have a lot of family come out here because of how long the trip is.”

Ionescu says Hebard has grown in strength and knowledge on and off the court every day since they were 5-star recruits together back in the 2016 class.

“She fits in with all those top players that I’ve played with,” Ionescu said. “Her competitiveness, her will to win, just everything. She has come along really well.”

Follow Bryce Dole on Twitter @DoleBryce

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Moments before Oregon (7-9-1, 1-7-0 Pac-12) women’s soccer match versus the Arizona Wildcats (11-5-2, 4-4-2 Pac-12) on Sunday at Papé Field, the morning rain turned to a light drizzle, the sun gleamed through a break in the ominous clouds and a rainbow stretched across the sky.

An Oregon fan sitting near the top of the stands yelled over the sounds of the Oregon Marching Band, pointed to the rainbow and said, “Maybe this is a sign. I think this could be the one.”

After 94 scoreless minutes, senior forward Baylee Bruner delivered the golden right-footed strike off an assist from junior midfielder Emma Eddy, which spun its way to the top right-hand corner of the goal to end the Ducks’ eight-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory in overtime.

“I just saw an opening near the post, and Emma laid it off perfectly,” Bruner said. “After a losing streak, the hard times make the good times sweeter.”

After her game-winning goal, Bruner was tackled into a dogpile by her laughing, cheering teammates.

“I feel like a big cloud has lifted because we struggled getting results in the Pac-12, especially on Sunday games,” redshirt senior goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir said.

Hinriksdottir tied her career-high of seven saves and passed the 200 career-save mark with her parents in the audience, who flew all the way from Iceland to see her play her final games as a Duck.

Ducks goalkeeper Halla Hinriksdottir (1) craddles the ball after making a save. Oregon Ducks Womens Soccer takes on Stanford at Papé Field on Oct. 4, 2018. (Ben Green/Emerald)

The Wildcats dominated possession early on, pressuring the Ducks defense with a shot-on-goal by Arizona sophomore forward Hannah Clifford, which went just wide to the left within the first minute of play.

The offensive press shifted to the Ducks after their slow start, with two shots from freshman forward Zoe Hasenauer 14 and 16 minutes into the game.

Hasenauer’s first shot was tipped just over the bar by Arizona senior goalkeeper Lainey Burdett, and the second slid about a foot wide to the right of the goal post delivered from point-blank range.

The two shots by Hasenauer were the best opportunities for the Ducks, and the game remained scoreless at the half.

Arizona dominated the game in shots in the second half with six to Oregon’s four, but again, neither team was able to capitalize, and the match went to overtime.

For head coach Kat Mertz, the team’s gritty mentality became the key late in the game.

“Everybody had a piece of this one, and that’s the most important thing,” Mertz said.

Mertz said Bruner has had a lot of pressure on her shoulders in the absence of Oregon’s high-scoring senior Marissa Everett, who missed five games with a hamstring injury, but came off the bench at the 26th minute for the most playing time she has seen since her return to play on Thursday versus Arizona State.

“As a forward, sometimes you feel the responsibility that we have to score,” Mertz said of Bruner. “For her to not give up, be resilient and be in the position for Emma, that’s awesome. That’s trusting your teammates. I’m so proud of her.”

The Ducks’ final game of the season will be at home against the Oregon State Beavers at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Email Bryce Dole at bdole@dailyemerald.com

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The fourth-ranked Oregon women’s cross country team took home the Pac-12 title with 32 points, upsetting top ranked Colorado by 16 points on Friday at the Pac-12 championships in Palo Alto, California.

Four of the eight Ducks competing for the women’s team finished in the top 10, and seven finished in the top 20.

Jessica Hull, after finishing first-place at the Pre-Nationals invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, two weeks ago, lead the lady Ducks with a second-place finish in 19 minutes, 25.07 seconds in the 6000-meter race, just over a second behind Colorado’s Dani Jones, who took first place in 19:24:43.

The scoring runners behind Hull included senior transfer student from the University of San Francisco Weronika Pyzik, who took in fourth place with a time of 19:53.7, senior Susan Ejore in sixth with 19:48.4, senior Carmela Cardama Baez in eighth with 19:52.6 and junior Isabelle Brauer in 12th with 20:09.2.

On the men’s side, sophomore Cooper Teare was first finisher for the Ducks in a time of 23:11:94 good for sixth-place in the 10,000-meter race. Teare finished just over two seconds behind first place Grant Fisher, a senior from Stanford and the reigning Pac-12 cross country champion from 2017.

The team racked up 93 points, which was good for 4th place in the meet.

Fisher and the Stanford Cardinal took home the title for the second year in a row with 44 points.

Behind Teare was junior Jackson Mestler in 12th place with 23:16.9, freshman Charlie Hunter in 16th with 23:27.2, senior James West in 30th with 23:48.3 and junior Levi Thomet, who finished in 23:49.7 to close off the scoring five for the Ducks.

Next up for the Ducks is the NCAA West Regional Championships in Sacramento, California, on Nov. 9.

Email Bryce Dole at bdole@dailyemerald.com 

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By the beginning of their high-altitude training camp in Sunriver, Oregon, the Ducks cross country team had seen a variety of drastic changes over the summer.

Hayward Field was torn down just weeks after the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.

Distance coaches Andy and Maurica Powell, who helped accrue more than a dozen NCAA championships in over a decade-long tenure, were hired by the Washington Huskies in June.

Four Oregon All-American distance runners joined the Powell’s at Washington, while coaches Helen Lehman-Winters of the University of San Francisco, and Ben Thomas of Virginia Tech, joined the Ducks followed by transfer students from USF.

Despite the reshuffled team and a new set of coaches, the season has provided a new perspective and heightened sense of morale for head coach Robert Johnson and the cross-country squad.

“Just to see them come to work with a smile on their face and see the things that they have at their disposal is something that is refreshing and new to me,” Johnson said. “I think they’ve done a good job acclimating, getting the kids ready to go, and getting them to buy in.”

Changes from Thomas for the men’s team have included higher mileage weeks, more time spent in the weight room and “lots of skills and drills that we’ve never asked them to do since I’ve been here,” according to Johnson.

“Compared to what it was the last four years, it’s completely different for me,” said redshirt senior Blake Haney regarding the impact coach Thomas has had on the team. “It’s not that we didn’t trust the Powell’s, there’s just a vibe around the team that everyone has bought in and everyone is willing to go for it.”

Senior and reigning NCAA 1500-meter champion Jessica Hull became an integral part of the hiring process in the offseason. Johnson said he communicated with her regularly to ensure they were making the decision that was best for the team.

“I was still at home in Australia when Helen first called me on the phone,” Hull said. “I put it out there what my goals are for the next 12 or 18 months. There was no hesitation. I knew she was all in.”

The team operates as a family, said Hull, doing cooperative group style workouts and chatting about their daily lives and brunch plans rather than the grind of the season.

“It’s incredible to look back and think we’ve only been together for six or seven weeks,” said Hull, “I think we can all bring a lot to the table.”

Weronika Pyzik, a fifth-place finisher at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships, and Isabelle Brauer, a 15th-place finisher, followed coach Lehman Winters from USF over the summer.

“Isabelle has such a kind heart, and Weronika is my queen of the tempo grind,” Hull said, giggling because tempo workouts are not her strong suit but says Pyzik helps her embrace it.

As for the Ducks who left for Washington, neither Hull nor Haney feel any animosity towards their old teammates and coaches.

Email Bryce Dole at bdole@dailyemerald.com

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Oregon soccer (7-8-1, 1-7-0 Pac-12) concluded its second of two tough road games in Los Angeles with a 5-0 loss to the No. 2 USC Trojans (14-1-1, 7-1 Pac-12) on Sunday.

The loss is the seventh in-a-row for the Ducks, and the last of five straight games versus 2017 NCAA tournament teams.

It is also the final match of six against opponents ranked in the top-25—the most the Ducks have played in a single season since 2011.

Freshman forward Penelope Hocking led USC’s offense with three goals, completing the first hat trick of her career.

Hocking’s first goal came off a low arching pass from sophomore forward Tara McKeown. The pass led her to the top of the box where she scored off her left foot past Oregon senior goalie Halla Hinriksdottir.

After 20 minutes of play, a short pass from USC senior forward Leah Pruitt placed Hocking in the center of the box, where she sent the ball with her left foot to the bottom right-hand corner of the goal.

Just two minutes later, Savannah Demelo zipped a shot off a ricocheted pass to the left side of the net to earn her sixth goal of the season, concluding the scoring for the Trojans before halftime.

The final two goals of the match came in the 61st and 82nd minutes. The first goal was from Hocking, and the final goal came off a low bouncing shot to the bottom-right corner from redshirt sophomore forward Samantha Bruder.

The goal by Bruder was just past the outstretched hands of a diving Oregon junior goalie Katelyn Carter, who came in for Hinriksdottir in the second half for the most extensive playing time she has seen this season.

At the end of the game, the Ducks had one shot on goal to USC’s thirteen.

The Ducks will return home for the final three matches of the season, beginning with Arizona State on Thursday.

You can Email Bryce Dole at bdole@dailyemerald.com

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In dramatic fashion, Oregon football upset No. 7 Washington 30-27 with a 6-yard rush up the middle by running back CJ Verdell in overtime against one of the most formidable run defenses in the Pac-12. The victory brought the Ducks from No. 17 to No. 12 in the AP poll.

August Raskie and No. 14 Oregon volleyball squad defeated Colorado on Friday, but fell to the unranked Utah Utes on Sunday in an upset where they were without three of their usual starters.

Reigning NCAA 1500-meter champion Jessica Hull took first-place for Oregon cross-country at the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Wisconsin in a preview for NCAA championships next month.

Oregon soccer dropped its fifth match in-a-row after a 4-1 loss to the No. 16 Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder.

The projected Pac-12 champion Oregon men’s and women’s basketball teams put on a show at Matt Knight Arena on Friday night.

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Oregon soccer (7-5-1, 1-4-0 Pac-12) traveled to Boulder, Colorado, to face the 16th ranked Buffaloes (11-0-3) on Saturday.

The match was the third of five straight grueling matches against 2017 NCAA tournament teams for the Ducks.

The Buffs dominated the first half, getting out to a 3-0 lead with two goals coming off penalty kicks from junior midfielder Taylor Korniek, and the third off a high-flying header from sophomore forward Marty Puketapu.

The Buffs maintained this lead and took home the victory 4-1, remaining undefeated and tying the longest unbeaten streak in program history at 12-0-3.

The loss is the fifth in a row for the Ducks, who fall to 7-6-1 on the season after reaching an all-time high NCAA ranking of 14th in September.

A handball by the Ducks provided the first penalty kick opportunity for Korniek, who tucked the ball into the bottom left-hand corner past Oregon redshirt senior goalie Halla Hinriksdottir.

Puketaku, the sophomore forward from New Zealand, headed in the second goal for the Buffs off an assist from redshirt junior forward Stephanie Zuniga, and after Korniek’s second penalty kick, the Buffs had stretched a formidable lead.

Oregon sophomore midfielder Chardonnay Curran provided the Ducks their only goal of the match in the 60th minute off a sprinting header on the right side of the box into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal.

The Buffs responded with a soaring lob from Chaynee Kingsbury to a diving header from redshirt freshman Libby Geraghty, who sealed the game with her first career goal.

The loss is a tough start to three straight road games for the Ducks, who now travel to Los Angeles to face No. 10 UCLA and No. 2 USC.

Follow Bryce Dole on Twitter @DoleBryce

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Oregon soccer went up 1-0 early against Cal on Sunday, but Bayley Bruner’s goal was not enough.

The Bears began an onslaught of late-game offensive press and control that propelled them victory, highlighted by the efforts of sophomore forward and Sweden international, Emma Westin, who contributed to both goals for Cal, scoring one, and assisting another.

Westin’s goal came off a deflected shot from sophomore midfielder Luca Deza, while her assist was a high-flying corner kick that dropped to the head of midfielder Anja Koehler.

“It’s not a game of momentum,” head coach Kat Mertz said. “It’s not a game of moments. This is a game of confidence.”

Cal’s come-from-behind performance ended Oregon’s hopes of just its third win over the Bears in 22 matchups. Bruner provided Ducks soccer (7-5-1, 1-4-0) a 1-0 lead that withstood for over 70 minutes, exhilarating a crowd of over 550 fans on the brisk Sunday afternoon at Papé Field.

The goal, however, was the only one for the Ducks in a tough 2-1 loss against the California Bears (5-7-1, 2-3-0 Pac-12).

“I thought Bayley Bruner played her heart out today. She was all over the place. And Emma did a great job for us too,” Mertz said. “Yeah, the goals that we didn’t put away sting. But we have to go back to work tomorrow.”

Surrounded by a sea of blue jerseys, Bruner collected a deflected, bouncing pass from junior midfielder Emma Eddy. With a powerful right-footed strike just prior to the seven-minute mark, Bruner nailed her shot into the top of Cal net.

Despite scoring, Bruner was disappointed with the game’s outcome.

“It stung,” she said. “We came out strong, but we just couldn’t battle it out for the full 90 minutes. If you don’t play every minute then these results can happen.”

Oregon and California fiight for the ball. Oregon Ducks Womens Soccer takes on UC Berkeley at Papé Field on Oct. 7, 2018. (Devin Roux/Emerald)

This is the fourth loss in a row for the Ducks, the most recent coming from an overtime battle on Thursday against the reigning NCAA champions and No. 1-ranked Stanford Cardinal.

After the initial offensive surge by the Ducks early in the first half, possession and control favored the Bears, but the Ducks defense held strong allowing only three shots on goal.

Oregon’s offense is still without its leading scorer, Marissa Everett, who sustained a hamstring injury in the Ducks’ loss to Washington. Mertz and Bruner acknowledged Everett’s importance but say that it is important for the team to learn to play without her, though she shouted words of encouragement to her team from the sideline throughout the game.

The Ducks now head back to the road to face 20th-ranked Colorado next weekend.

“I think the biggest message for us now is our attitude,” Mertz said. “We have to go back to work. The Pac-12 is so grueling. If you sit here and let one game beat you twice, you’re just going to keep digging a big hole for yourself that you can’t climb out.”

Follow Bryce Dole on Twitter @DoleBryce

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After a few innings of Ducks baseball at Thursday’s opener versus Arizona, it was very clear that despite the pregame hopes, the Oregon seniors would not be starting off their send-away weekend on the high note they desired.

“Yes, setting a tone for next year is a big thing,” sophomore pitcher Kenny Yovan said in a pre-game report from goducks.com. “But honestly, sending the seniors out in a good way — they’ve been here for so long, they deserve the best this weekend.”

The Arizona Wildcats did not allow for the outcome Yovan had prescribed and defeated the Ducks 10-2, bringing them to 25-28 on the season.

“There’s no consolation prize. I thought our at bats early were good, and then not so good as the game went along.” said Ducks head coach George Horton post-game. “We were frustrated a little bit with some of the pitches that were called strikes. I don’t think we did a good job mentally on getting to the next pitch.”

Pitching struggles plagued the Ducks on Thursday as Cullen Kafka, Kolby Somers and Zack Knoll allowed for 14 hits total.

“We got whooped. They’ve got some good low ball hitters. Those lefties are tough.” said Horton. “They scored in a lot of innings, their power showed up. We swung the bats pretty good I thought, had a couple good shots at them, but once again we didn’t have that finishing blow within an inning.”

It’s difficult in times like these, with stands verging on empty, frustrations riding high and solutions seeming few and far between, to continue bringing positives of today to apply them to the hopes of a future. But for Horton, it’s all he can look towards

“Defensively we had a couple good plays early on.” said Horton. “It could have been worse. But we’ll just have to see if we can ‘tee’ it up a little better with Kenyon tomorrow.”

As adjustments have been made, a few promising young players have stepped up to the plate to take on roles that have instilled confidence in the team’s flexibility and depth.

Freshman outfield Jonny DeLuca is one of the team leaders in home runs this season and is amongst the nations best in sacrifice flies for freshman. Sophomores Yovan and Ryne Nelson have both been placed on the watch list for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and Yovan has also been placed amongst the top 80 pitchers in the country for National Pitcher of the Year.

However ominous the future might seem after such a tough season, the offseason will require many moving parts to be built around the developing roles of players like Yovan, DeLuca and Nelson to get back to a winning record.

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As the collegiate baseball season inches to a close, and with an NCAA Tournament appearance seeming unlikely, the Oregon Ducks are busy adjusting their lineup to ensure gradual improvements. After three innings of offensive dormancy at Friday night’s matchup versus the Utah Utes, the Ducks’ waited patiently for the proper spark that would ignite them life.

That spark was starting pitcher and sophomore dual threat, Kenyon Yovan.

In the bottom of the fourth, Yovan stepped up to bat, and on the first pitch thrown his way, Yovan hit a high-flying home run into left field for his third of the season, giving the ducks the 2-1 lead that brought the crowd to life.

“It felt good after giving up a run in the third inning to come back and answer.” Yovan said. “That’s the nice thing about hitting for yourself … It’s probably the best feeling ever.”

The Ducks offense continued to roll in the fourth inning after Ray Soderman, who took a frightening pitch to the head earlier in the game, walked it in to a 3-1 lead. The Ducks finished the night off with a 6-2 victory over Utah.

Yovan has lead the Ducks to an impressive array of defensive performances in these past weeks, including holding the high-powered offense of the now fourth ranked Oregon State Beavers to only two runs.

“Being a starter, you’re not just going out there and throwing as hard as you can.” Yovan said. “You have to get your pitches in the same spot, exactly where you want them to be.”

Since then he has pitched a seasonal 2.55 ERA and continues to balance his duties with a .240 batting average.

However, even though the gamble risks exhaustion and injury to arguably the most important position on the field, it seems to be working for the Ducks.

“The boy is a warrior and likes to be in big spots both at the plate and on the mound.” head coach Greg Horton said regarding Yovan. “You worry about the freebies and setting the table for him, but there’s nobody better to have at the mound in a crucial situation.”

Expectations for Yovan were high from the beginning of the season when he was named a Collegiate Baseball Preseason First Team All-American. After coming out of the bullpen for 22 games last season with a 1.97 ERA, 36 strikeouts and six walks in just 32 innings, Yovan has taken his starting job with confidence and poise.

“He’s a winner.” said Coach Horton, “Last year he won a lot of games at the back end of the bullpen and didn’t always have his A stuff. But like I said, he did what he had to do, got us in it late in the game, so we’re happy about that.”

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