Oregon women’s soccer protected Papé Field Sunday evening in an impressive 3-0 victory over the Stephen F. Austin State Ladyjacks. For the Ducks, this win meant maintaining their undefeated record, while the Ladyjacks have yet to find their first win.
Previously in the 2016 season, Oregon head coach Kat Mertz said that a major factor in any game is which team scores first.
Her squad took that to heart, scoring in the fifth minute of Sunday’s match. Veteran midfielder Maryn Beutler took the shot unassisted from the top of the 18.
Soon after, in the 15th minute, junior defender Mia Costa delivered a goal from the corner, chipping the ball to the opposite side of the goal. She was assisted by Jayne Lydiatt and Caitlyn Wong from downfield.
“We can’t create those shots if we don’t have good attacking shape,” Mertz said. “I think it’s all around a good team effort. You let those forwards do what they do, and then Mia Costa got a goal. I mean look at that- that’s awesome.”
The Ducks weren’t done. In the 54th minute, freshman Artrea Williams passed the ball to junior Miranda Schulz, who lobbed it over the Ladyjacks’ goalkeeper, Lillie Ehlert, for the goal.
Oregon finished with 12 shots on goal from nine different players. Twenty-one of the squad’s 29 athletes saw playing time.
Oregon goalkeepers Halla Hinriksdottir and Katelyn Carter split the game at 45 minutes each, and finished with a combined three saves. The Ladyjacks only took three shots on goal in the game.
“They both bring something different to the field,” Mertz said of her two starting keepers. “Halla’s got great leadership and experience, and has been playing last year in the Pac-12, and Katelyn’s got just a fresh presence about her- her distribution and her ability to pick balls off in the air.
As a former goalkeeper I’m just having fun watching them both make each other better.”
Sunday’s win against the Ladyjacks marks the second consecutive shutout completed by the duo.
Just four games into the season, the Ducks have now had half a dozen individual players score one or more goals. Comparatively, they only had a total of nine players score one or more goals for the entire 2015 season.
Still undefeated, the Ducks’ “#Revolution” mindset seems to be in full effect. Mertz explained that the team has been diligently working on just about every aspect of the game, including approaching practice with an enthusiastic mindset and cheering on their teammates’ successes.
“Little things make the big things happen,” she said. “It’s a revolution, and it does take some momentum behind it. We’ll take that momentum and prepare, one game at a time.”
Follow Alexa Chedid on Twitter @alexachedid18