EUGENE, Ore.— The Oregon Ducks women’s soccer team defeated the Seattle U Redhawks 2-1 Friday night at Pape’ Field in front of 777 rabid Duck fans. Oregon advances to 4-2-1 on the season, while Seattle U falls to 4-3-0. The Pac-12 Network broadcasted the game to a national audience for the first time this season.

“We got another great win at home and it was good to keep the winning streak alive here,” said head coach Tara Erickson. “I think we came out very well tonight and we got going with an early goal which is always helpful. Another great pull by Kristen Parr she seems to find the back of the net with ease in those situations.”

Freshman forward Kristen Parr scored her fifth goal of the season in the fourth minute of the game after beating a defender right past midfield and making a nice run down the left side of the field before putting the ball in the upper right corner of the goal. The Redhawks answered back quickly with a goal of their own in the 11^th minute of action off of a deflected free kick.

Senior midfielder Scout Libke got in on the action in the 35^th minute as she scored her first goal of the season on a corner kick that bounced off a Seattle U defender. The Redhawks outshot the Ducks 6-4 in the first half, but UO won the possession battle.

“Our possession in the first half was something that really stood out to me. As the game went on, Seattle U brought more pressure, more numbers, more balls, more free kicks and more balls directly into the box. We were a little bit back on our heels and that’s something we have to work on in terms of end of match tactics and keeping a close lead. That’s something we talked about as a team. So it was a great learning experience,” added Erickson.

Both teams maintained their level of intensity in the second period as several fouls and free kicks were awarded. Libke shot the Ducks’ first penalty kick of the year after Maryn Beutler was fouled in the box. The shot hit the crossbar and bounced right back to Libke who put up another shot that sailed high. Overall, Oregon was called for 11 fouls, while Seattle U was whistled for 10. Both teams ended the match with 11 shots, and the Redhawks edged the Ducks in corner kicks 7-2.

Seattle U had one last fighting chance at sending the game into extra periods in the final seconds of the game before freshman goalkeeper Dana Connors made a huge save to seal the victory. Connors started her first career game as starting goalkeeper Abby Steele sat the game with a red card.

“Overall, it was a solid performance and I think that Seattle u is a great team. They will give a lot of people trouble this season. They have dynamic attacking players and they attacked our left side of the field very well. Offensively, I liked our possession and I thought our midfielders played really well for us. Getting another goal from KP and one from Scout was nice. I would also commend Dana Connors for stepping in and doing a fine job. She’s got some sticky fingers in goal and plucked some dangerous balls and held them so it was very, very impressive for a freshman in goal in her first start,” said Erickson.

Oregon returns to Pape’ Field on Sunday to face the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 1:00 p.m.

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