EUGENE, Ore. - Looking to upset at home and secure its first win since late August, Oregon women’s soccer (2-10-4, 0-6-3 Big Ten) fought hard against the No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers (12-3-1, 6-2-1 Big Ten) at Papé Field on Stomp Out Cancer Night. However, the Ducks couldn’t work the magic, as they fell 1-0 to the Badgers on a chilly night.
“I think we continue to show up against really quality teams,” Oregon head coach Tracy Joyner said postgame. “It just goes to show our mentality that we want to be in every game that we’re going to work for results.”
Wisconsin got the first shot of the game in the fifth minute, off the boot of Ashley Martinez, before it landed directly in the gloves of Oregon goalkeeper Caeley Goldstein.
Oregon got its offensive momentum going in the 15th minute, with Addisen Boyer making a break for it, before it was tapped out of bounds by the Badgers, giving the Ducks a corner. Off the corner, Ella Osmussen was able to take a contested shot, but it landed left of the target.
The Badgers’ Erin Connolly took a shot at the goal in the 17th minute, but couldn’t find the back of the net, as Goldstein recorded her second save of the night. Goldstein picked up her third save of the night just a couple of minutes later, off a shot by Kiara Gilmore. Martinez took her second shot of the night for Wisconsin, but Goldstein had an easy ground ball save in the 21st minute.
In the 31st minute, Wisconsin’s Hailey Baumann headed the ball off a corner kick and hit the top crossbar, missing finding the back of the net by inches. Martinez put her third shot of the night out right, in the 36th minute. In the final shot in the first half, Delaney Cox had her shot in the 43rd minute land out left for the Badgers.
While the first half was controlled by Wisconsin, Goldstein’s performance in goal kept the game scoreless.
“We’re super organized defensively,” Goldstein said. “We shut down a lot of opportunities, especially for a ranked team.”
Oregon came out firing in the second half, with midfielder Carly Cormack taking a deep shot in the 52nd minute, but it found the hands of Badgers goalkeeper Drew Stover.
Just a minute later, Brooke Allen put the first goal on the board for Wisconsin, putting the Ducks down 1-0.
Lauren Kenny attempted to even the score for Oregon in the 58th minute, but curled her shot to the left, missing the target. Cormack fired the next shot off in the 71st minute, but the ball found the gloves of Stover.
Wisconsin’s Adee Boer couldn’t get an accurate look with the ball in the 73rd minute, and her shot flew over the top crossbar.
Oregon’s final push came in the 86th minute, as Boyer had a one-on-one with Stover, but Stover deflected the ball to the left. The Ducks followed up Boyer’s attempt with two corners, but couldn’t convert either set piece into a goal.
In the 90th and final minute of the game, forward Taylor Bryan headed the ball off a volley, but found it landing over the top of the goal.
Despite Goldstein’s strong first-half performance and the late push from the offense, the Ducks couldn’t get it done at home.
Oregon will look to rebound on Senior Day, when it returns to Papé Field on Sunday, Oct. 19, as it takes on the Minnesota Gophers, with kickoff set for 12:00 p.m. PDT.
“We're not going to give up,” Joyner said. “We’re going to keep pushing and fighting.”