A diving save in the first minute and a goal before halftime gave Dixon some momentum Monday against Oregon.

But at the break, the Dukes weren’t content.

“Let’s break the 1-0 curse!” one of the players said as the team huddled up.

Dixon did just that, adding three more goals in the final 13 minutes to make sure the lead never slipped away in a 4-1 victory over the Hawks at A.C. Bowers Field in their Big Northern Conference finale.

“It was really nice to finish this one,” said senior Jack Redell, who recorded a hat trick. “We’ve come out in first halves and played good soccer, then we’ll come out in the second and it’s like we just die out there. We’ll be up and then we’ll lose all our intensity. It was better today; we came out in the second half, we kept the same intensity and we kept scoring. That was really good.”

Dukes goalkeeper Gage Helfrich set the tone immediately, diving to his right to stop an Oregon shot just 40 seconds into the game. He also made a nice stop on a close-up shot when he came off his line a little later in the half.

“We always try to come out strong, and we always stay on our toes. As a goalkeeper, you’ve got to be ready all the time to make fast reactions,” Helfrich said. “Right out the gate, within the first 40 seconds, they had a good chance, but I had a good dive and made a good save. After that, we rebounded and ended up scoring in the first half, and we kept it going from there.”

Hawks keeper Deryk Withers was also solid, thwarting a few Dixon chances before the break. But the Dukes (6-6, 6-2 BNC) broke through in the 27th minute when Cameron Foulker lofted a throw-in from the left sideline into the box in front of the goal and Redell connected with the side of his heel to find the net with 13:56 left before halftime.

The second half saw both keepers make a few nice saves before Dixon added to the lead. Nolan Valk booted a crossing pass from the left baseline and Quinn Redell worked his way behind the defense to hit the pass with his knee into the net with 12:47 remaining.

Oregon (9-8, 4-4 BNC) had the answer this time, as Eduardo Munoz Garcia dribbled up the field and connected with Steven Guardado on a through pass. Guardado toed a couple of dribbles before ripping it into the back of the net to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 10:42 to play.

Dixon didn’t wait long to respond. Marques Flanagan dribbled up the right side and centered a pass to Jack Redell, who punched it past the charging Withers for a 3-1 lead with 9:21 to go.

The final goal for the elder Redell came with 7:50 to go, as he smacked a knuckling kick toward the goal; Withers initially stopped it, but the funky spin caused it to bobble out of his grip and cross the goal line.

“Everyone played well. Gage had amazing saves, the defense played well today, we were building out well, the midfield had great combinations, and we were finding the wings and the forwards on their runs,” Jack Redell said. “It was working well.”

That connection and cohesiveness from the back line through the midfield to the top end helped the Dukes play with confidence.

“It’s really a masterpiece when it all works together, and it just makes the game way smoother and easier and more fun, just running around and playing our game,” Helfrich said. “We’ve been establishing that chemistry all year, and it worked out well today.”

The Hawks spent the final 20:45 playing a man down following a red card for a brief scuffle on the field that led to a yellow card for the Dukes and the red for Oregon.

“Even after the red card happened, we still fought,” Oregon coach Seger Larson said. “We had opportunities in the first half, and even in the second half we were creating opportunities. We didn’t mark up, they scored one [after the red card], but we still didn’t give up. We came down and got it right back. Then just some guys that don’t always get playing time are out there and we kind of get beat a little bit on defense again. But nobody gave up, and that’s what I saw from us out there today.”