Written By Olivia Arciniega
On this rainy Sunday afternoon, the Ducks were scheduled to take on the Trojans on their home field. It was also the day to celebrate the graduating seniors: Alyssa Wright, Katie Collins, Alli Bateman, Logan Gierke, Sam Brescia, Maggie Flynn, Bailey Smith, and Margot Hotham.
First Quarter:
Maybe it was the excitement from Senior Day, or because it was the last home game, but there was something in the air for the Ducks. They came out with a burst of energy that made the Trojans look slow. Haley Cummins was strong on the draw, winning the opening one, allowing the offense to work. Getting a pass into the 8 through the strong USC defense wasn’t easy, but patience was the name of the game for the Ducks. About 4 minutes into the game, Katie Collins drew a free position, where she passed it off to Cummins, who scored the first goal of the game. The Duck’s defense was just as impressive, holding USC to 0 shots on goal for the entirety of the first quarter. Another key to the team’s success here was the 5 forced turnovers, allowing more possession time for the Ducks. After the first 15 minutes, the offense had 5 shots on goal (in the previous game against USC, they had 4 shots on goal the entire game), and overall, looked like the better team.
Final Score at the end of the First Quarter: 1-0
Second Quarter:
Between Bella Cleveland and Cummins, the Ducks failed to win a single draw for the rest of the half, which set the tone for the upcoming 15 minutes. Very soon into the quarter, USC found its way with a free position opportunity, burying the shot in the top right corner of the net. Nonetheless, the Duck’s defense continued to put up a fight, breaking up passes in the 8 meter and causing more turnovers. Paige Crowther recorded her first save of the day, leading a beautiful transition to the offense. Morgan McCarthy, Cleveland, Collins, and Cummins continued to lead the offense with patient passes outside the 12, leading to an easy free position goal by McCarthy. However, this seemed to be the only high point for the Ducks this quarter. USC continued to win the draws, and a combination of turnovers, strong transitions, and creative passing led to two more goals by USC. Crowther struggled to keep her footing and save those top right shots, and the defense seemed to be collapsing as well. Still, UO showed their grit and a little more aggressiveness, standing their ground until halftime.
Final Score at the end of the Second Quarter: 2-3
Third Quarter:
Any hope of some comeback seemed to fade away, as these next 15 minutes were dominated by a strong USC defense and many fouls. Cleveland was able to pick up the ball on the draw from Cummins, but USC held the offense out for a shot clock violation. Shortly after, USC was able to hit the top right corner of Crowther’s net again. Cummins showed promise for a chance at possession with a draw control, but some sloppiness from the Ducks and an unfortunate call from the refs overturned the ball. From here, the once strong Ducks defense looked tired. USC was able to easily break through into the 8 and score again. This seemed to be the story for the rest of the quarter: the UO offense couldn’t capitalize on offense or their free positions, Crowther was getting shots fired at her from short meters away, and both teams began to rack up fouls. However, promise was shown in sparks from Cleveland’s powerful outside shot, multiple forced turnovers, and a couple more draw control wins.
Final Score at the end of the Third Quarter: 3-7
Fourth Quarter:
The Ducks have been notorious for late comebacks, but they couldn’t pull it off against the Trojans. The controlled energy turned to unnecessary aggression from both sides, as many players earned fouls and yellow cards. At the end of the game, UO ended with 30 fouls, and USC with 36. After Cleveland earned a yellow card early in the quarter, it seemed to go downhill from there. The offense turned the ball over multiple times, including on a free position opportunity. This led to USC earning their 8th goal of the game on a free position. Crowther struggled for the rest of the game, still with little protection in front of her, ending with just 4 saves. It’s important to give an immense amount of credit to Bella Cleveland, who scored 2 more goals from the outside for UO, and through it all, never seemed to give up or lose her spark. In the end, UO ended with 12 forced turnovers, USC with 13.
Final Score of the Game: 5-10
As disappointing as this was for the Ducks, their season isn’t over yet. Traveling to face California, Stanford, and Colorado, they hope to add some wins to their conference record before the PAC-12 tournament.