Ducks Host WSU, UW in Final Homestand
Oregon hosts the Washington schools in the penultimate week of the season. The Ducks and Cougars battle for fourth place in the Pac-12 on Thursday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network), while it will be Senior Day against Washington on Sunday (1 p.m.).
WHAT TO WATCH
• Oregon has locked up consecutive winning seasons for the first time in 40 years; 1980 (13-1-3) and 1981 (13-2-3).
• Sunday at Utah, the Ducks tied the 1981 team with their program-record ninth shutout of the season.
• Oregon's 9-2-5 record is the program's best 16-game mark in 40 years. The 1981 squad was 12-1-3 through 16 games.
• The Ducks are the only team that has shutout UCLA this fall (0-0, Sept. 24). It was the first time the Bruins had been shutout at home in more than three years. Leah Freeman (goalkeeper) and Chai Cortez (defender) were named Pac-12 players of the week.
• Individually, Leah Freeman leads the Pac-12 and ranks fourth nationally with a UO single-season record nine shutouts. She is second in the Pac-12 in save percentage (.868) and third in goals against average (0.64).
• Oregon has scored 26 goals in 16 games in 2021. Contrast that to last season: 12 goals in 16 games.
• No one has played in more matches in an Oregon uniform than fifth-year seniors Chardonnay Curran (89 - first), Mia Palmer (85 - second) and Eden Hardy (82 - third).
• Oregon returned all 11 starters from last season's squad that posted the Ducks' first winning record (6-5-5) since 2006 (12-6-2), including all-conference picks Zoe Hasenauer, Croix Soto and Leah Freeman. Freeman was also named to the Pac-12 all-freshman team.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Ducks are 33rd in the latest RPI, which is fourth-highest among Pac-12 teams. Oregon is 4-2-4 overall - and an impressive 3-1-4 on the road - against teams currently in the top 100. The Ducks have at least two more matches with teams in that group:
Date RPI Opponent (result)
8/22 97 @ San Francisco (T, 2-2)
9/9 36 @ Texas (W, 1-0)
9/12 46 @ Baylor (T, 2-2)
9/24 23 @ UCLA (T, 0-0)
9/30 54 @ California (W, 2-0)
10/3 31 @ Stanford (L, 1-2)
10/10 77 Arizona State (W, 1-0)
10/14 20 USC (L, 1-3)
10/21 37 @ Colorado (T, 1-1)
10/24 65 @ Utah (W, 1-0, 2ot)
10/28 41 Washington State
10/31 102 Washington
11/5 44 @ Oregon State
FREEMAN, DEFENSE REWRITING RECORDS
Leah Freeman now owns the UO single season record with nine shutouts. She broke the previous mark of seven (Jessie Chatfield, 2005; Halla Hinriksdottir, 2018) Oct. 10 against Arizona State. As a team, the Ducks' nine shutouts in 2021 are tied for the school record first set in 1981. Freeman's current goals against average, 0.64, is below the school single-season record, 0.74, she set just last year, while her eight wins are one shy of the UO single-season record.
CURRAN SETS GAMES PLAYED RECORD; OTHER PLAYERS CLIMB
No one has played more games in an Oregon uniform than fifth-year seniors, Chardonnay Curran, Mia Palmer and Eden Hardy. Additionally, Curran and Palmer are also on the UO career starts list. Curran broke the school record with her 81st career cap Sept. 19 at Portland State and now shows 89. Palmer is alone in second at 85 career matches and Hardy is at 82 (third). Additionally, Curran broke the career mark for games started Sunday at Utah with 81, passing Danielle Sweeney and Scout Libke (80). Palmer shows 73 starts (10th).