By: Jack McArthur
The Oregon Ducks will face off against the Utah Utes at home tomorrow on October 1, 2023, at 1 PM PST. The Ducks have a record of 0-8-2, while the Utes sit at 4-3-4. Utah’s head coach is Hideki Nakada, who is in his third season at the helm. Oregon’s head coach is Graeme Abel, who is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Ducks. Abel’s overall head coaching record at Oregon is 19-18-18. Utah is coming off of a 2-2 tie against Oregon State last Thursday. Oregon on the other hand are looking to bounce back from their 1-3 defeat against the Colorado Buffaloes the other day on Thursday, September 28th. The Ducks are currently on a two game losing streak.
The Ducks have implemented various tactical changes this season, including a goalkeeper swap before last Thursday’s match-up against Colorado. Oregon have made a multitude of line-up changes, as they continue to search for a spark to help turn their season around. Last Thursday, Oregon lost to Colorado 1-3. Despite losing the game, Oregon scored their fourth goal this season, and notched their first goal at home this year.
This Sunday the Ducks aspire to build off of what they learned from last Thursday’s match. The Ducks will hope to get on the board again to start some offensive consistency. Oregon is the fourth youngest team in all of D1 women’s soccer currently. On the flip side, the Utah Utes are an experienced team who don’t roster that many young players. Just six out of 23 rostered players on Utah’s roster are freshmen, while 15 of Oregon’s 29 players are freshmen. Just over one fourth of Utah’s players are freshman, while just over half (52%) of Oregon’s squad are freshmen.
Maddy Goldberg did not start in net for the Ducks last Thursday. Coach Abel decided to switch it up, and started 5 '8” freshman keeper Leah Parsons instead. Parsons had an impressive performance. Despite giving up three goals, she made some big time saves that altered last Thursday’s result versus the Buffaloes. Leah Parsons recorded seven saves in Oregon’s 3-1 loss against Colorado. The Ducks have multiple keepers who they rely on, including sophomore Maddy Goldberg and freshman Leah Parsons. Goldberg has 49 saves and a 74.2% save rate in nine appearances for the Ducks this season. Goldberg also has one shutout and a goals allowed average of 1.89, Parsons has a goals allowed average of 3.00 in only one appearance this season. Parsons also has a 70.0% save rate.
The Utes are in a similar situation as Oregon, as they have multiple goalies that they have utilized. The Utes have started 5 '10” junior Kasey Wardle in seven out of her eight appearances this season. Wardle has a 1.47 goals allowed average, and a seasonal save rate of 79.6%. Utah’s other main keeper is 5’ 9” junior Evelyn Vitali. Vitali has a 1.19 goals allowed average, and a 80.0% save rate. Vitali has also started four out of six games played for the Utes this season.
Utah has quite the offense, averaging 1.45 goals per game and 14.3 shots attempted per contest. Oregon on the other hand are averaging just 0.4 goals per game, and 8.5 shots taken per game. Utah have netted four times as many goals as the Ducks so far this season. The Utes have tallied 16 goals in their 2023-24 campaign, while the Ducks have netted just four. The Utes have impressively had shutouts in all four of their victories this season. The Ducks don’t have any shutouts thus far.
There are a couple team leaders on the Utes. Utah’s leading scorer is 5’ 11” senior forward, #8 Taliana Kaufusi. They also have 5’ 7” graduate student midfielder, Courtney Brown. Kaufusi has five goals and one assist in 11 appearances for the Utes this season, while Brown has two goals and leads the Utes in assists with four. Oregon on the other hand don’t seem to have a distinctive team leader, as they’re still trying to put the pieces together within their young squad. The Ducks’ most impactful player is arguably Kristen Conti, who has one goal and one assist in 10 appearances. Four different players on Oregon are tied with one goal a piece. These players include Ryann Reynolds, Ajanae Respass, Callan Harrington and Kristen Conti.
The Utah Utes are a fairly talented squad who currently stand a couple slots below the middle of the field in the Pac-12 rankings. Utah has the eighth best record in the Pac-12 right now. The Utes are entering this match-up against Oregon with a record of 4-3-4. The Ducks remain at the bottom of the pack at 12th place, with a record of 0-8-2. This season the Utes are 1-3 at home, and they’re undefeated on the road. Utah has an away record of 3-0-4. The Ducks haven’t won at home yet. Oregon are 0-4 at home this season, and they have a record of 0-4-2 on the road. The Utes have had a slightly above average season, while the Ducks have had a disappointing season thus far. The Utah Utes have had a mixture of wins, losses, and draws sprinkled into their season. The Oregon Ducks on the other side remain winless on the season. The Ducks have had solely losses and draws so far at the halfway point of their season.
The match between the Oregon Ducks and the visiting Utah Utes will kick-off at 1 PM PST tomorrow, October 1, 2023. I predict that it will be a close match that will be determined by the energy that both teams bring from the start. After last Thursday’s match, the Ducks are a seemingly much more inspired group who are still hungry for their first win of the season. Utah on the other hand are a determined squad who have had a rollercoaster season. I believe that this will be an extremely interesting match-up, with a close result. My final score prediction is Oregon wins 3-2.