EUGENE, Ore. – For the first 20 minutes of each half Thursday at Papé Field, Oregon looked every bit the equal of Indiana. Sustaining that level of play will be a focus after the Hoosiers grabbed momentum in each half of a 3-1 victory over the Ducks before 612 fans.
The UO women (5-6, 1-3 Big Ten) allowed two goals after the midway point of the first half Thursday, and another just past the midway point of the second half. The Ducks had closed within 2-1 with a goal on a penalty kick from Makoto Nezu in the first five minutes after halftime, but the Hoosiers added the insurance goal later in the second half to come away with the win.
“In these conferences, you can’t put together half games, (or) half a half and things like that,” UO coach Graeme Abel said. “Games (go up and down), but when there’s a big swing the way that it did, we can’t allow that to happen to ourselves and expect to come out on the other side with a positive.”
Indiana had a 22-5 advantage in shots on the night to earn its first win of Big Ten play this fall. Maddy Goldberg had three saves in goal for the Ducks.
How It Happened: The Ducks were able to create some pressure in the opening stretch of the match, resulting in three corner kicks in the first 10 minutes. But a foul 22:29 into the half resulted in a free kick for the Hoosiers, and they scored off a set piece for the early lead.
Indiana controlled play the rest of the first half, and after another Oregon foul at the 40:06 mark, the Hoosiers scored soon after for a 2-0 halftime lead.
The Ducks got on the board early in the second half when Taylor Bryan went to the goal and elicited contact from the Indiana keeper that resulted in a penalty kick. Nezu converted, and Oregon was within 2-1.
“We felt as though one of the things we lacked in the first half was a commitment in the tackle,” Abel said. “They beat us to every 50-50 ball. They turned balls that were 60-40 in our favor into balls that they were able to win. That was something we asked from the team at halftime, was, we can’t be beat for those balls. And the first ball that goes in the 18-yard box, Taylor Bryan goes and challenges, and that’s what happened.”
Oregon looked to press the attack and create an equalizer as the half wore on. But in the 68th minute the Ducks turned it over at Indiana’s end, and Layla Sirdah made a long run before putting the ball into the back of the net for a 3-1 lead.
“We had good momentum after the PK, and definitely we tried to score a second goal to get a tie,” Nezu said. “But we ended up making a mistake, and then conceded the goal for the third goal. So we definitely gotta improve that part so that we can get another win.”
Notable: Nezu is now 2-for-2 this season on penalty kicks. … The match was the first all-time between Oregon and Indiana. … The Ducks have scored in all but one match this season.
Up Next: The Ducks host Purdue on Sunday (1 p.m., B1G+).
– www.GoDucks.com –
