Oregon soccer defeated the Cal State Fullerton Titans 2-1 today in double overtime at Papé Field.
In the 109th minute, the Ducks found themselves with a scoring opportunity with a minute left in the match as Oregon defender Reilley Moore lined up for a free kick after a foul call on the Titans for pushing Oregon’s Kira Wagoner.
Head coach Kat Mertz said after the game that the play made her a nervous, but it ended up being the start of the game winning moment for her team.
As Moore kicked the ball deep towards Fullerton’s goal, senior Lilly Archer was able to get her head on the ball to flick it toward teammate Brooke Strawn. The ball was heading between the the Titan’s goalie and defenders as Strawn was able to get her head on the ball and beat Fullerton’s keeper Jennifer Stuart. However, Strawn and Staurt collided on the play.
Oregon’s sidelined rushed on to the field to congratulate their teammate, but Strawn laid on the grass in pain after the collision. In a post-game interview Strawn admitted that she didn’t really know if she scored or not.
“I was in pain and then all my teammates come and I thought ‘I must have scored’,” Strawn said. “But I didn’t really know at the time.”
Strawn, who says she’s the tallest player in the Pac-12, added that she looks for moments to use her height as an advantage.
“It’s what I identify myself with,” Strawn said.
When asked if the winning goal was suppose to play out like that Mertz stated “it wasn’t by design,” but emphasized how the team was looking to run toward the ball and flick it towards the goal.
Mertz added that she was proud of the team’s performance this weekend, as the Ducks tied with Eastern Michigan 1-1 on Friday.
“That was a good win for us,” Mertz said.
The Ducks were able to score fairly quickly in the match when Archer beat goalie Stuart off a penalty kick to put Oregon on the scoreboard first during the 15th minute.
“Lilly is just a worker. Whatever it is. The ball is there she is working,” Mertz said. “She is leading our time,she is pushing them and everyone is kinda catching up.”
Archer has been a key component of the Duck’s offense from corner kicks to penalty kicks (she took her second of the season) and spoke about her confidence with taking penalty kicks in games.
“I usually know what I am going to do,” Archer said. “I picked a spot and I have a plan. The moment you doubt it you either miss it or play to the keeper.”
However, Cal State Fullerton was able to respond in the 20th minute as Rebecca Wilson went sprinting down the middle with a leading pass from Ali White beating two Oregon defenders in a foot race and leaving Oregon keeper Abby Steele with a one-on-one situation in goal. Wilson was able to beat Steele with a low shot on the right side.
Fullerton kept pushing with speed, but Steele came up with a couple big saves to keep the Ducks in the game and finished the match with five total.
The Titans outshot the Ducks in the first half 7-5, but Oregon found more offensive rhythm in the second half and finished the game outshooting Cal State Fullerton 19-10.
“I think it was adjustment, once again it is about a 90-minute game. I thought we got a little but complacent when we got that goal and we fell asleep,” said Mertz. “For us that is part of growing and learning how to win, if we are going to keep and maintain possession of the ball you can’t turn off defensively.”
Next up for Oregon is Portland State. They face the Vikings on Friday in Portland, Ore.
“We are pretty happy with what we are doing right now,” said Strawn. “We are working hard in practice. We are tweaking little things here and there and looking forward to our next game against Portland State.”
Oregon is now 4-1-1 on the season.