Women's Soccer: Oregon Begins 2007 Season in Nevada

Oregon’s 2-1 loss to Nevada Sept. 22, 2006, in Eugene was one of the games that kept the Ducks from earning their first NCAA Tournament bid a year ago.

Dani Oster started all 20 games as a freshman last season. Photo courtesy: goducks.com

EUGENE, Ore. - Oregon opens the season with a challenging match at Nevada, a 2006 NCAA Tournament team that defeated Oregon 2-1 at Pape’ Field last year.

The 2007 season gets underway Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Reno’s Mackay Stadium.

The Ducks’ stay in the Silver State continues with a neutral sight meeting against Boise State Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in Reno.

OREGON PICKED FIFTH IN PAC-10 POLL

Oregon was picked to finish fifth in the Pac-10 in the preseason coaches poll.

The Ducks’ fifth-place choice by the Pac-10 coaches marked a high for Oregon.

The Ducks had never been picked higher than seventh in the league’s preseason poll.

Defending champion UCLA was the pick to win the Pac-10, followed by Stanford, California, USC and Oregon. The second five consisted of Washington State, Arizona State, Arizona, Washington and Oregon State.

GENERATING BUZZ

Oregon was ranked No. 19 by Soccer Buzz in its preseason poll, marking the Ducks’ first ever appearance in the Soccer Buzz top 30. The Ducks were also among the teams also receiving votes in Soccer Times’ preseason top 25.

OPENING NOTES

2007 will mark just the third time Oregon has opened the season on the road. The Ducks won 3-0 at San Francisco to open the 1999 campaign and 7-2 at San Francisco to start the 1997 season. Oregon is 7-4 all-time in season openers.

CRY OF THE WOLF

Oregon’s 2-1 loss to Nevada Sept. 22, 2006, in Eugene was one of the games that kept the Ducks from earning their first NCAA Tournament bid a year ago.

The Wolf Pack, which won the Western Athletic Conference’s tournament to gain entry into the NCAA Tournament, turned in a fine 13-5-4 record in 2006 and have eight starters back from that squad.

The Ducks lead the all-time series with Nevada 2-1-0. This will be the first time that Oregon and Nevada have played in Reno. In fact, this will be the first time the Ducks have ever played a soccer match within the state of Nevada. Oregon is 8-4-1 against current members of the WAC.

DUCKS AND BRONCOS MEET ON NEUTRAL TURF

Sunday’s game with Boise State, another WAC school, will be played at Reno and will be only the second meeting between the two squads. The Ducks defeated the Broncos 4-1 to open the 2003 season. Boise State went 7-7-4 last year.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT THE DUCKS

“If karma has any place in soccer, Oregon will catch every break possible this season. And the Ducks may need them. Inexplicably snubbed during the NCAA Tournament selection process, Oregon faces something of an uphill battle to earn another shot at the postseason. Picked to finish fifth in the Pac-10 this season, the Ducks must replace Nicole Garbin, who accounted for 12 of the team’s 24 goals in 2006. Freshman midfielder Kirstie Kuhns arrives with a strong résumé and could help bolster the attack immediately playing alongside Allison Newton, who scored six times last season. For now, the strength of the team is on defense, where the core of a group that allowed just 17 goals returns, including defenders Dylann Tharp, Nicole Dobrzynski and Darcie Gardner and goalkeeper Jessie Chatfield.”

-Graham Hays, ESPN.com

“Oregon hit home run after home run in 2006 but failed to make the All-Star team of sorts. The intrigue of that success will hover strongly this year as the Ducks will have a harder time running through the Pac-10 and staking a real claim at NCAA postseason action. The loss of All-American Nicole Garbin, who established nineteen school records to earn Pac-10 Player of the Year honors, will be felt from the start. Returnees Newton and Smith will have to carry more of the scoring load which could get a bump from freshmen Jill Jensen or Jen Stoltenberg. Transfers Jenny Baker (UCF) and Jessica Goodell (Nebraska) are likely options up top to kick off the season. If Coach Erickson can solve her offensive problems, Oregon could prove it belongs among the Top 25 teams in the country. Newton, Oster and Cameron will get more pressure in the midfield now that teams will be gunning at Oregon and junior Chatfield will be pressed to equal her .82 GAA from 2006. A huge recruiting class, which also includes Sara Plutko, Kirstie Kuhns and Bree Rowe may be the key to the 2007 squad as Coach Erickson now has a good mixture of her own recruits and talent she inherited when she came to Oregon in 2005. Odds are this program will take some lumps this time around and slip from the polls, but the magic from 2006 is still in the air for now.

-SoccerBuzz.com

QUICK HITS

Some things to note heading into the 2007 season:

* SR D Dylann Tharp has already moved into the top 10 in games started; she’s on pace to become Oregon’s career leader in both games played and games started.

* SR F Tiffany Smith - of her four career goals, three have been game-winners.

* JR GK Jessie Chatfield comes into the year already as the school’s all-time leader in shutouts; she needs seven more wins to claim the to spot in that category. She also needs 24 more saves to pass Domenique Lainez for third on the UP career list.

* JR M/F Allison Newton comes into the season as the Ducks’ top returning scorer (6G, 4A in 2006) and has moved into the UO career top 11 in goals, assists and points.

* GOT D? The theme for this year’s media guide, Oregon has all five starters back from a defense that set school records for fewest goals allowed (17) and lowest goals against average (0.81). However, look for Pac-10 all-freshman defender Danielle Sweeney to slide up to the midfield because...

* 4-3-3 Formation - Oregon will be playing a 4-3-3 attack this season, as opposed to the 4-4-2 of the last two years. Look for Allison Newton and Dani Oster to slide up front from their midfield spots, and Danielle Sweeney to move up behind Netwon in the midfield. Those two were a potent combination on the outside last season, combining for six goals and five assists. Sweeney’s forward mobility is also partly due to strong fall camps turned in by SO D Barbara Blocker and JR M Jessica Goodell (a transfer from Nebraska) at outside defender.

SCRIMMAGE RECAP

Midfielder Allison Newton scored a pair of goals and Teresa Bowns had two assists to lead the Green team to a 3-0 victory during the Oregon women’s soccer intrasquad scrimmage Aug. 25 at Pape’ Field.

Newton, a junior from Eugene, Ore., scored twice in less than 15 minutes during the second period.

Senior Tiffany Smith (Eugene, Ore.) fired a shot on White team goalkeeper Tori Johnson (Corvallis, Ore.) that the freshman made a diving save on, but the ball deflected to Newton, who blasted home a score from 15 yards out on the left side.

Smith earned the assist on the deflection. Minutes later, Newton took a nifty feed from Bowns, a sophomore midfielder from Redmond, Wash., and found the back of the net to put the Green up 2-0.

Junior defender Darcie Gardner (Bellingham, Wash.) capped the scoring with a perfect header in the 55th minute after Bowns found her on a long cross from the left corner.

1980 & 1981 TEAMS TO BE HONORED

The University of Oregon will honor the 1980 and 1981 women’s soccer teams during its Oct. 5 home game versus the University of Portland at Pape’ Field.

The athletic department will also formally recognize the varsity status of the 29 women who played for the Ducks during the two seasons.

Team members will be invited to take place in pregame activities around Pape’ Field and will formally be recognized during halftime of the Oregon-Portland match.

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports