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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 2000)
Pez Sez continued from page 9 season, had another sub-par per formance and connected just nine of 22 passes. “Every time we beat Washington it’s a great feeling, especially for a na tive Oregonian,” Harrington said af ter the game. “But there is a sense of dissatisfaction because we feel like we missed a lot of opportunities. ” Those missed opportunities turned a should-have-been route into a nail-biting fourth quarter, with Husky quarterback and Heis man Trophy candidate Marques Tu iasosopo leading his team within one score of tying the game. The ob vious scapegoat for the score’s closeness would be Josh Frankel, who missed three field goals and an extra point. However, Frankel is not the only Duck to blame. Looking at the play by-play, the Oregon offense failed to score on drives starting at their own 43,46,48, and Washington’s 41 and 17. “The score just disgusts me; the score should not have been so close,” defensive end Jason Nikolao said. “The offense has got to put points on the board.” Harsh words from Nikolao, con sidering that Oregon is now in the driver’s seat in the race for the Rose Bowl, but he has every right to be upset. After all, it was the Ducks’ magnificent defense, not the of fense, that is largely responsible for the team’s first two conference vic tories. But the defense could use some improvements of its own. Oppo nents have tormented Oregon with big plays this season, starting with long runs by Wisconsin’s Michael Bennett and most recently, by an airborne fourth-quarter assault from Tuiasosopo. “It feels great when the defense does the job,” linebacker Matt Smith said. “We gave up a couple of touchdowns in the second half, so we probably won’t be too happy when we watch film.” The line that “defense wins cham pionships” is more than a cliche in the world of sports — it is a sacred truth, a mantra and a solid founda tion on which to build success. So far, the Ducks are living, run ning, hard-hitting evidence that the popular motto is true. But defense is just a foundation, and Maurice Morris can only carry the ball so far before opponents be gin to catch on that the passing game is struggling. What then? Harrington hasn’t regained his last-season form, and his receivers aren’t catching the ball consistent ly. The one game in which Harring ton and his receivers did click was against Idaho, and Oregon lit up the Vandals for 35 first-half points. And in clutch situations, Frankel has to put the ball through the up rights, at least in the easy attempts. One of his missed field goals was from a mere 28 yards out, and scor ing the extra point is critical — his missed extra point allowed Wash ington a chance to win. Fortunately for the Ducks, the de fense muscled them past another tough opponent. Unfortunately, no matter how good a defense is, a game can’t be won if the score is 0-0. But Oregon fans shouldn’t worry. Harrington is a seasoned veteran. He accomplished a major feat last sea son, taking control of the Ducks mid way through the season and leading them to victory in the Sun Bowl. Soon, Harrington will be forced to step it up a notch. Opponents will begin focusing their defenses on stopping Morris’ runs. When that happens — when there is less pressure on the quarterback and the pass routes — expect Harrington to make opponents pay dearly for it. With only the running game in tact and the rest of the offense sput tering, the Ducks remain the top contender for the Rose Bowl. If the rest of the offense would fall into place, they’d be a sure-fire bet. These Ducks clicking on all cylinders? The Pacific-10 should be scared. Soccer continued from page 9 for much of the first half. “They’ve got the ability to knock the ball around,” Baker said about Oregon’s keep-away skills. “I thought they did a better job of pos session than we did. ” Florida State didn’t have an of fensive chance until seven minutes had ticked by in the first half, and its first shot came 15 minutes into the game. “We were passing the ball well,” Baysa said. “We were keeping pos session and moving the ball well.” Another bright spot for Oregon was the play of the defense and sophomore goalie Peters. The net minder made key saves on three corner kicks in the second half, stepping up to take the ball from the Florida State forwards in each in stance. But Peters’ most stunning save came in the middle of the first half. After a Florida State cross went un touched by Oregon players, Peters had to fight a diving Florida State forward for possession. The ball then trickled past her and rolled to wards the open goal. After an Ore gon defender cleared the ball to the edge of the 18-yard box to Brelan, Peters dove back into position and saved Brelan’s ensuing shot. With Peters playing at that level, Oregon’s defense stepped up to match her. Junior sweeper Starr Johnson was formidable anchoring the defense, while sophomore Lind sey Peterson and junior transfer An gela Romero joined her, and even threatened offensively in the game’s final minutes. “We were fortunate to get one goal,” Baker said. The worst news on the day for the Ducks wasn’t even the loss to Flori da State. With 10 minutes to go in the game, David went down to the ground after tangling with a Florida State midfielder. After struggling to get up, David found that she could n’t stand and had to be helped off the field. She did not return to the game. David is the Ducks’ leading scorer this year with eight points. Oregon will open up its Pacific 10 Conference schedule at home next Friday against Arizona. The Wildcats are the only Pac-10 team with a worse record than the Ducks. They are 1-6 overall, while Oregon is now 3-8. 25% OFF All Champion Sportswear! TEES SHORTS SWEATPANTS SWEATSHIRTS AND LOTS MORE! Sale Prices Are Effective At AH Duck Shop Locations Moshofsky Sports Center, Autzen Stadium M-F 7:45-6:00 • SAT l0:00-f • SUN 12:00-6:00 UO Portland Center, 734 SW 2nd Avenue M-F 9:00-6:00 • SAT l0:00-i. • SUN 12:00-5:00 UO Bookstore, 13th Av. & Kincaid Street M-F 7:45-6:00 • SAT 10:00-6:00 • SUN 12:00-6:00 AUTZEN • PORTLAND • UO BOOKSTORE chLV 13th & Kincaid, next to Taylor’s. 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