Women’s Soccer Drops 1-0 Decision to Oregon
SALT LAKE CITY – Despite building a 16-2 advantage in total shots, including a 7-0 margin in on-target tries, the University of Utah women's soccer team ended up on the short end of a 1-0 score on Thursday night as they hosted the Oregon Ducks in Pac-12 action at Ute Field.
The Utes 2022 record now stands at 5-5-2 with a 1-3 mark in conference play. The Ducks are 3-4-4 overall and 1-2 in league fixtures.
"Soccer can be incredibly cruel at times," said coach Hideki Nakada. "We dominated every facet of the game, aside from the score line unfortunately. We have nobody to blame but ourselves because in the end, we had to put away chances we created and it just wasn't meant to be for us tonight."
Thursday's match marked the first time since Sept. 16, 2018 against Nevada the Utes didn't permit a single shot on goal and the two total shots they allowed equals their previous season-best in that statistic.
On the offensive side for Utah, their seven on-target efforts match a season-high while they've only topped 16 total tries once. Taliana Kaufusi, Courtney Brown, Katie O'Kane and Madeline Vergura each logged three of those attempts and Vergura was the only player to have three shots on goal, while Brown was credited with two.
The first half passed without a mark on the scoreboard despite Utah putting five shots on frame, starting with a blast by Vergura from the top of the box that was tipped over the net by Leah Freeman in the 18th minute. Freeman collected two more stops in the next five minutes and also denied a pair of chances in the final moments of the period to keep the scoreless tie intact. Oregon's offensive consisted of only one shot in the first 45 minutes as the sides headed to the break level.
The Ducks put together their lone threat of the night in the 54th minute and it resulted in the contest's only goal. Trinity Morales sent a ball towards the Utah net that was chased down by Lexi Romero on the right side of the box. Romero's cross into the six-yard box resulted in an own goal that nudged the visitors in front.
Over the final 35 minutes, the Utes tried desperately to even the score and had multiple opportunities to do so. Their best chance came when a foul by the Ducks in the box resulted in a penalty kick for Utah in the 69th minute, but Vergura's shot was saved by Freeman. In the 80th minute, Brown centered a ball for Kaufusi in front of the net, but the junior's try sailed over the bar. Kaela Standish had one final shot for the Utes in the 88th minute, but Freeman collected her seventh save to secure Oregon's win.
Next Up
On Sunday afternoon, the Utes will host the Oregon State Beavers in a match that will begin at 1 p.m. It will also be Senior Day and the program will honor six seniors prior to kickoff.
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Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UtahWSoccer | Instagram: @UtahWSoccer | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwsoccer).