Ducks Await NCAA Fate after 2-2 Tie at OSU
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon dominated play for much of the night but a few unkind bounces and the crossbar conspired to send the Ducks and Oregon State to a 2-2 tie Friday at Paul Lorenz Field.
Oregon (9-4-6, 4-4-3) will now have to wait until 1:30 p.m. Monday to find out if the Ducks' best season in 15 years will be enough to earn the first NCAA Tournament bid in program history.
"We have fought all season, our student-athletes have continued to move our program forward and I couldn't have asked them for any more tonight," said head coach Graeme Abel. "We've been here two seasons and both seasons we've been in the discussion for the NCAA Tournament. I feel like we're knocking on the door and we'll be watching on Monday, which is exciting."
How It Happened: The Beavers (11-7-1, 3-7-1) scored just five minutes into the game on a corner kick that appeared to go off Eden Hardy's head.
Hardy atoned for that in rapid fashion when she found the back of the net just two minutes later. Along the right sideline in OSU's third, Mia Palmer took a throw-in and found Ally Cook. Cook slipped the ball right back to Palmer who played it to the far side of the net. Hardy came in high to his a header to the left side of the net.
Oregon sustained its pressure coming out of the break and took a 2-1 lead just :37 into the second half. Hardy played a high ball from outside the top of the box that got though the OSU defense. Ally Cook put a toe on the ball before Kess Elmore finished from just inches away.
Over the next 20 minutes the Ducks attempted seven shots, three of which were on net, and two others by Caitlin Shaw and Cook hit the crossbar.
Oregon was also awarded a penalty kick in 53rd minute, but Zoe Hasenauer's attempt sailed high.
Oregon State tied the game on a counter attack in the 70th minute when a ball passed over the top found Oregon State's Maddie Tetz well behind the Oregon defense and she bested Oregon goalkeeper Leah Freeman one-on-one to tie the match.
Freeman later denied the Beavers a golden goal by making three rapid-fire saves in :05 seconds to keep the game tied late in the first overtime.
Chardonnay Curran had one final look in the 107th minute but her contested headed skimmed just over the crossbar.
What It Means: Oregon has a solid case for one of the 33 at-large bids with an RPI around 50. The Ducks are the only team this season that shut out Pac-12 champion UCLA, and also have a win at Texas, which plays Sunday in the Big 12 Tournament Championship final. Oregon will finish the regular season 4-4-4 against teams in the top 100 of the RPI, and an impressive 3-1-4 on the road against top 100 teams.
Who Stood Out: With two assists Friday night, Cook became just the fourth player in program history with a 20-point season (8 goals, 4 assists). She joins Nicole Garbin and Jen Stoltenberg, who each had three 20-point seasons, and Chalise Baysa (2001).
Quotable
Head Coach Graeme Abel
"I thought we were excellent tonight with our pressing and energy. We were back to our identity tonight in terms of that part of our game. We are obviously disappointed that we didn't win the game, but not one person on our roster should hang their head."
Notable: Oregon's 86 points on the season are tied for the second best in program history; the program record is 93 points by the 2001 team. The Ducks' 29 goals, 28 assists and 99 corner kicks are the fourth-best marks in program history … Palmer started her 76th career match Friday to move into a tie for fifth with Allison Newton (2005-08) on the UO career list … Curran finishes the regular season as the Ducks' career leader in both games played (92) and games started (83) … Palmer is second in games played (88) with Hardy third (85) … Freeman matched her season-high with eight saves … Cook moved up to seventh in career points with 39, passing Newton … Cook also took over seventh in career shots with 146, passing current Portland Thorn forward Marissa Everett (141/2015-18).
Up Next: NCAA Tournament Selection Show, Monday, 1:30 p.m. PT (NCAA.com).
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