Oregon makes most of its chances to top Dixon

OREGON – Despite being at a huge shot disadvantage Thursday, Oregon made the most of its chances to defeat Dixon 2-1 in a Big Northern Conference soccer game at Oregon Park West.

Playing much of the game in their own end and being out-shot 21-5, the Hawks (9-5-1, 4-3 BNC) managed to capitalize on both of their first-half shots to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.

“It was really big to get ahead early,” said Oregon forward Anna Stender, who scored both goals. “Coming into the game we were a little skeptical, because we’ve had some rough patches during the season. But being able to go out and get that first goal right away, it got us going. All we’ve been working on in practice lately is putting the ball in the goal, so it was great to see that happen today.”

The first goal came on a loose ball in front of the Dixon goal just 3:01 into the game. Stender was one of three Hawks crashing on the play, and she was able to tap it into the net before Dixon keeper Zoey Williams could recover from diving for the ball when it first came into range.

The second was on a direct kick from about 25 yards out with 16:53 left in the first half. Stender booted a high-arcing shot that snuck under the bar while just barely clearing the hands of a leaping Williams.

“The first one, I just saw the goal, and I knew I was right in front of the goal, so I thought, ‘Just kick it right away, don’t wait.’ There’s no one-touch-and-go there, you just throw your foot at it, be aggressive and eager to get the ball,” Stender said. “The second one, I was trying to get the shot to go in; we’ve been working on those too.”

After the opening 10 minutes, the Duchesses (10-5-1, 5-2 BNC) were the ones applying all the pressure. They spent the rest of the half in Oregon’s end of the field, then picked up where they left off for the first 30 minutes of the second half.

But none of their 15 first-half shots found the net. They were either wide left, wide right, over the crossbar – or within new Oregon goalkeeper Noelle Girton’s reach.

“I definitely think it shows persistence that we kept fighting, but we kind of got in a rut when we kept missing shots,” Dixon co-captain Leah Stees said. “Our shots were either high or wide or going right to the goalie, and it was hard to get out of that rut.

“We were really just trying to keep the energy up and keep the pressure on them in the second half, and just play like it was a tie game. We fought to the end, it just didn’t go our way.”

Girton made saves on all eight shots on goal in the first half, then saved three of the four that came her way in the second half. The only blemish was when Jenna Harrison took a pass from Rachel Lance and finally broke free for a one-on-one opportunity less than five minutes into the second half. Harrison punched it past Girton to cut the deficit in half with 35:35 remaining.

But with defender Addison Rufer marking Harrison the whole game, the Hawks made it difficult for Dixon’s top goal-scorer to get the ball in a position to score or set up her teammates.

“Our defense was really good at covering [Harrison] and making sure she didn’t get shots off. My job was just to cut off whatever they kicked my way,” Girton said. “It feels good to get those stops. I’ve never played back there until a couple of weeks ago, and I feel like I’m learning and finally know how to play the position better.

“And it’s a lot less stressful when we’ve got a cushion. My defense is doing their part so I can do my part, so if something does happen – like them scoring that goal – we’re able to keep the momentum going because we still had the lead.”