Ducks Draw at Gonzaga, 2-2

SPOKANE, Wash. – Ajanae Respass scored twice and Leah Freeman made a huge play on a breakaway in the final seconds as Oregon and Gonzaga played to a 2-2 draw Saturday night at Luger Field.
 
Freeman made a career-high 10 saves in the Ducks' first game in Spokane since 2006.
 
How It Happened: Oregon (1-0-2) opened the scoring on a counterattack in the 16th minute. From midfield, freshman Trinity Morales drove a long pass up the middle to Respass at Gonzaga's 18 yard-line. Respass then slipped the ball through the legs of Gonzaga goalkeeper Lyza Bosselmann for a 1-0 lead.
 
Gonzaga (0-1-2) tied the game in the 21st minute when Erin Healy scored on a rebounded shot.
 
The Ducks took the lead again, 2-1, less a minute into the second half. Respass forced a turnover in the Bulldogs' half and found Livvy Moore on the left side of the box. Moore then drew the defense to her before threading the ball back to Respass who hammered a shot to the right side of the net.
 
Gonzaga scored in the 83rd minute to knot the game at 2-2, setting the stage for some late game heroics by Freeman.
 
The junior from Berkeley, Calif., made seven saves in the second half, three of which came in the final 4:30. In the final seconds of the match, Gonzaga got behind Oregon's defense on a breakaway, but Freeman rushed out of the net to smother the Bulldogs' final shot at the top of the box.
 
What It Means: All of Oregon's goals and assists on Saturday came from freshmen. Respass now leads the team with three goals on the season. Moore recorded her second assist of the year, while Morales earned her first.
 
Notable: By playing in tonight's game – her 35th career match – Freeman met the minimum eligibility requirements for the UO career goals against average top 10. She is now the current record holder at 0.82. … Respass is the first Duck to score two goals in a match since Eden Hardy had two against Northern Arizona on Aug. 29, 2021. … Zoe Hasenauer entered the UO career top 10 for matches started with her 74th on Saturday. … Madeline Gravante and Kaitlyn Paculba make their first starts in a Duck uniform Saturday. … Oregon is unbeaten in its last four matches dating back to last season. … The Ducks haven't dropped a game in August since 2019. … The Ducks played their third consecutive match without returning starters Kess Elmore, Caitlin Shaw and Croix Soto.
 
Up Next: Oregon returns to Eugene to host Texas on Thursday (7 p.m., Pac-12 Livestream).
 
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