By Rob Moseley
GoDucks.com
EUGENE, Ore. – A new era for Oregon soccer, and for UO athletics as a whole, got off to a rousing start Thursday night.
In the first-ever competition for a Ducks team since the athletic department joined the Big Ten Conference, the UO soccer team opened its 2024 season with a 1-0 victory over Seattle at Papé Field. The Ducks controlled play nearly from start to finish, breaking through in the 73rd minute for the go-ahead goal.
Oregon outshot Seattle 21-8, initially appearing to take the lead in the 68th minute before having a goal disallowed upon replay review. Undaunted, the Ducks came right back and scored five minutes later, with one of the team’s several veteran transfers, Taylor Bryan, converting off a set piece.
The win was Oregon’s first since Oct. 6, 2022, and first at home since Sept. 23, 2022. The shutout by goalkeeper Maddy Goldberg was her first career victory, on a night she recorded her 100th career save in net for the Ducks.
“For all of us, it just means a lot — it’s been a long time coming,” said Goldberg, who helped the Ducks earn three ties during her 15 starts in the 2023 season. “We prepared a lot for this, we had a good game plan going in and we started off really hot; struggled a little bit at the end of the half and it was a fight to the end. They kept us on our toes (but) it’s just really special for us. It’s been a long time.”
After the Ducks peppered the Seattle net over the first 30 minutes, the Redhawks grabbed momentum late in the first half and Goldberg made her lone save of the night about 10 minutes before halftime.
At the 67:30 mark of the match, transfer Makoto Nezu found the back of the net for Oregon, but though that goal was disallowed due to a hand ball, Bryan put the Ducks in front again five minutes later.
Off a Redhawks penalty, Lexi Lerwick served a ball into Seattle’s end that Grace Mensah headed to Bryan for a shot from the top of the box. Bryan tucked it inside the left goal post, and Oregon had the lead.
“Once we scored and it got taken back, nobody’s head dropped,” said Bryan, a transfer from Virginia Tech whose parents and sister live in Portland and drove down for Thursday’s match. “Everybody was like, well, if we could get one we can get more. And I felt like that just spread across the entire time. Everybody’s head was held high, and we just kept on going. So I felt like we were resilient from the start to the finish.”
Bryan was one of 16 newcomers to the UO program this offseason, and 11 of them appeared in Thursday’s match. Returners Mensah, Livvy Moore, Cameron Bourne and Lauren Kenny, meanwhile, combined for 15 of the Ducks’ 21 shots — and seven of the team’s 11 shots on goal — while Goldberg posted her second career shutout.
“It’s awesome to see the smiles on their faces,” UO coach Graeme Abel said. “Some of these kids have been here with me from the start, and worked their tails off. And for some of these kids, the bravery to commit to us in December and January, that speaks to the character of these people. That’s what we feel like right now, is that the character of the people in this locker room is second to none.”
That character was tested early Thursday, as Oregon pressed the action but wasn’t rewarded in the first half. Mensah had a couple of chances in the opening 20 minutes, the second off a corner kick, and freshman Cloe Chase from nearby Springfield also got off a shot on a set piece around the 20-minute mark but couldn’t quite convert.
When the field began to tilt Seattle’s direction, the Ducks could have tightened up. But they came out for the second half with sustained energy, and finally broke through to take the lead.
“We talked at halftime, the first 30 minutes we controlled the game,” Goldberg said. “We pressed them and they couldn’t get out. They switched formations up on us a little bit, but it was just nice to see us, what we’ve been practicing, actually executed in the game. So it was really good.”
Bryan is one of five fifth-year transfers for the Ducks, and referred to this as her “grandma season” of collegiate soccer. She helped make Oregon’s debut in the Big Ten Conference a memorable one.
“That’s exactly what I wanted — I wanted to be someone that could come to the team and elevate it, and just be the best person I can on and off the field,” she said. “Just help everybody in any way, shape or form I can. And I feel like I was able to do that today.”
After opening their season with a win for the first time since 2022, the Ducks will look to start 2-0 for the first time since 2018 when they host Portland State at Papé Field on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“There’s still stuff we need to improve,” Goldberg said. “We’ll celebrate the victory, because it’s important; that’s a fresh start for us. But at the same time, we know it’s just the start. We have to keep going. We can’t get comfortable. There’s still a lot we need to improve on.”
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