EUGENE, Ore.—The Oregon Ducks soccer team fought hard at Pape’ field on Monday night but fell to the #12 Brigham Young University Cougars 1-0. After giving up a goal in the fifth minute of the match, the Ducks played well the remainder of the game but could not put any points on the board.

“Overall, I think it was a very, very well-played game by both teams,” said head coach Tara Erickson. “I think that BYU just had that extra something to get that goal and then they sat back on that goal and defended very hard. The positives for us were that we created a ton of chances and played very well against the 12^th ranked team in the country.”

Oregon held the first half advantage over BYU in shots (7-5) and corner kicks (6-2). The Cougars were able to put the ball in the back of the net, however, as they scored in the fifth minute of the game when Jaiden Thornock found an open Carlee P. Holmoe for a point blank goal.

The defense played extremely well the rest of the game and did not allow the Cougars to have any more close chances at scoring. BYU only had one more shot on goal, which Ducks goalkeeper Abby Steele saved.

 “Both Lauren Thompson and Nicole Bakke as center backs were outstanding defensively and offensively, generating and starting our attack,” said Erickson. “All of our forwards created dangerous chances and Abby was solid in goal. I don’t think there was any mistake on her part on the goal. Leaving an unmarked, senior runner for BYU is obviously going to be a good chance for them. I think that overall the back three of Nicole Bakke, Lauren Thompson and Abby Steele were fantastic again.”

Oregon ended the match with the advantage in shots (12-10), shots on goal (5-2) and corner kicks (6-3), yet were held scoreless for the second time in as many games.

“We kept the ball and possession was outstanding from our team,” added Erickson. “I think that has really become a staple of our team, but we have to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. At the end of the day, our defense will only be able to withstand for so long or maybe only give up one goal, but we have to find a way to score. We have the talent to do it, we just have to commit ourselves to the idea of offense and attacking and scoring goals.”

UO hits the road to resume Pac-12 play against the California Golden Bears on Friday, Sept. 28^th at 2:00 p.m. and the Stanford Cardinal on Sunday, Sept. 30^th at 12:00 p.m. Friday’s game will be broadcast by the Pac-12 Network.

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