(I do not usually cover some of the less-popular sports unless something exceptional is happening and this truly is)  (Press Release from Oregon Athletics)

 

EUGENE, Ore. – Kess Elmore scored in the 34^th minute and a determined defensive effort – highlighted by Leah Freeman’s eight saves – made that goal stand up in Oregon’s 1-0 victory against Arizona State Sunday at Pape’ Field.

 

Freeman set the school record with her eighth shutout of the season as the Ducks moved to 8-1-4 overall and 3-1-1 in the Pac-12.

 

“I thought we had a solid performance,” said Oregon head coach Graeme Abel. “Early on I thought that we were good on moving the ball around regarding the attack. It was a great job from Kess [Elmore] to score the goal. Defensive-wise I thought we were really organized.”

 

The sophomore from Berkeley, Calif., had a highlight reel save in the 63^rd minute. Nicole Douglas blistered a shot from seven yards out but Freeman countered with a fully-extended dive to her left to knock Douglas’ drive off target.

 

Who Stood Out: Center backs Croix Soto and Anna Phillips and outside backs Chai Cortez and Mia Palmer helped the Ducks become the first team to record a shutout against the Sun Devils (8-5-1, 0-4-1) this season. The Ducks have shutout six of their last seven opponents.

 

What It Means: Oregon has its best 13-game record since the 1981 squad was 11-0-2 through 13 games.

 

Quotable

Head Coach Graeme Abel

"Leah [Freeman] obviously gets singled out making the saves and at the end of the day, that is what she is there for. As a former goalkeeper, I get that piece of it. But as a team the way we defend is a team effort, it is a collected effort. We are not a collection of individuals, we are a team and we have been successful so far.”

 

Notable: Freeman broke the season shutout record she shared with Jesse Chatfield (2005) and Halla Hinriksdottir (2018) … Freeman passed Cody Miles (12/2008-10) for fourth in UO career shutouts with 13 … Freeman also recorded her seventh win of the season, which is tied for 10^th on the UO single-season list and just two shy of the school record … Chardonnay Curran started her 78^th match as a Duck which ranks third all-time and is just two behind the school record shared by Danielle Sweeney (2006-09) and Scout Libke (2009-12) … The Ducks swept the Arizona schools for the first times since 2016.

 

Up Next: USC, Thursday, 4 p.m. (Pac-12 Network).

 

                                                             Leah Freeman

Looks as though they are playing really well this season. Very good to see. Thanks for sharing!