Ducks Atop Pac-10 Standings With Win Over Huskies

Oregon reached 3-0 in league play despite being outshot 15-8, and 13-2 in the second half.

Ducks soccer Photo: goducks.com

EUGENE - Here’s a first: the Oregon women’s soccer is alone on top of the Pacific-10 Conference.

The Ducks used a couple of quick scoring strikes to run away from Washington 3-1 on Friday at Pape’ Field, and pull ahead of idle UCLA.

Oregon is now 3-0 in the Pac-10 for the first time in school history, and moved to 9-5 overall, tying the school record for victories in a single season.

"Offensively, we executed very well," said Oregon coach Tara Erickson. "They had trouble with our speed on the counterattack and we took advantage."

In the 18th minute, sophomore Allison Newton was the beneficiary of a corner kick that Washington had trouble clearing. After the ball bounced off a Husky defender and UW goalkeeper Kelsey Rasmussen, Newton kicked in a waist-high bouncer from point-blank range for a 1-0 lead. It was Eugene, Ore., native’s third goal of the season.

Just 1:37 into the second half, Oregon made it 2-0 with a length-of-the-field counterattack that saw freshman defender Danielle Sweeney send a ball from Oregon’s penalty box to freshman forward Leigh Quinlan at midfield. Quinlan trapped the ball and quickly lofted a pass behind the drawn up Washington defense, and senior Nicole Garbin out-raced the defenders to the ball and beat Rasmussen one-on-one to the right side from 12 yards out.

It was Garbin’s team-leading eighth goal of the season and 30th of her career. She is now just one goal behind Chalise Baysa, who netted 31 goals from 1998-01, for the Oregon career mark.

It was also the third-straight game-winning goal for the sixth-year senior from Wailuku, Hawaii, who extended her own school record with her 19th career game-winner.

"Our defense is pretty strong, so we worked on our forward and midfield attacking and it paid off for sure," said Garbin.

Oregon’s final goal came on another counterattack in the 67th minute. Freshman Dani Oster, from Mill Creek, Wash., sent a pass up the right side behind the UW back line, and junior Tiffany Smith bent the ball around Rasmussen just inside the right post from 15 yards out. It was the third goal of the season and fourth career for the Eugene, Ore., native.

"It was great to get a lot of people involved with the attack tonight," said Erickson. "Dani Oster had a great game on the outside for us and we were pretty successful tonight when we got the ball wide."

"We’ve done a good job playing each game," said Newton. "We’ve done a good job not just depending on Garbin. We’ve incorporated our defense and worked for assists from all over the field."

The Huskies got on the scoreboard in the 78th minute when Lindsey Kasser bent in a corner kick that just eluded Oregon goalkeeper Jessie Chatfield.

The Ducks and Washington State face off in a battle of Pac-10 unbeatens Sunday at 1 PM. The Cougars are 2-0 in conference play after defeating Washington last week and Oregon State 1-0 Friday night.

"I’ve been here a while and I’ve never been in this position," said Garbin. "We want to keep the confidence rolling especially against WSU, because it’s always a dogfight against them."

GAME NOTES: Three Pac-10 wins matches a season high for the Ducks, set in 1998, 1998 and 2003...Oregon’s nine wins overall match 2003 and 2005 for the program’s high-water mark...Sweeney got her third assist of the season on Garbin’s goal, while Quinlan picked up her first...Oster also recorded her first career assist...this was the first time Oregon had ever defeated Washington in Eugene (0-5 previously)...the 1,129 fans was tied for the fifth-highest attendance in school history...Chatfield moved past Sarah Peters with her 14th career win...she now trails only Amanda Fox (23/1996-99)...Garbin is now two goals shy of her own school single season record of 10, set last season.

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