Oregon tries to clean its slate
The women’s soccer team
could be due fora win against
the Washington schools
Soccer notes
Jesse Thomas
Sports Reporter
It has been nothing but a bumpy
road and an uphill battle for the
Oregon women’s soccer team for a
long time.
But, as they say, what goes up
must come down.
“Soccer can be a very cruel
game,” head coach Bill Steffen said.
“We need to keep playing well, keep
doing the good things, and the re
wards will come.”
The Ducks are off to their worst
start ever, at 1-7-1, since the pro
gram was established in 1996.
The Ducks have been playing
good soccer, according to Steffen,
but even when they dominate a
game, the slightest mistake can cost
the match.
“You can dominate a match for 89
minutes and 50 seconds — and slip
up and give a goal,” Steffen said. “We
just haven’t converted on the chances
we have worked for. When you do get
a chance, you convert it, and a lot of
that comes down to confidence.”
Confidence is something the
Ducks need. But with the worst
record in the Pac-10 and back-to
back losses to Portland State and
Portland, confidence can be scarce.
Oregon gave the Vikings an even
match through 65 minutes Friday
until goalkeeper Sarah Peters let a
ball roll through her grasp, and that
was the end for the Ducks. Portland
State grabbed momentum and took
only 27 seconds to score again.
“They need to keep their spirits
up,” Steffen said. “There are certain
breaks involved, but they also need
to understand you can make your
own breaks to a certain extent.”
Unsung hero award
goes to...
She is a Eugene native. She likes
peppermint ice cream. And she is
the recipient of this week’s brand
new Emerald Unsung Hero Award.
She is junior midfielder Lindsey
Werdell.
A graduate of Churchill High,
where she was a four-year starter and
captain her last two seasons, Werdell
has been a solid player for Oregon.
“She’s kind of quiet and has been
very steady for us,” Steffen said.
“Lindsey is a very calming influence.”
Werdell started all 18 games last
season, recording 10 shot attempts
and her first career goal in a win
against San Jose State.
“She’s asked to do a job, she does
the best job she can and she’s good
at it,” Steffen said. “If things are go
ing well, she is generally a big part of
why things are going well.”
Werdell said her greatest athlet
ic accomplishment was when the
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Lindsey Werdell has been "very steady for the Ducks," according to her coach.
Ducks tied Washington last season
in overtime.
Werdell and the Ducks will have a
chance to build on that tie when
they play the Huskies on Friday at
Pape Field.
Contact the sports reporter
at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com
Ducks serve toward goals
I he Ducks have slumped,
buttheyVe been aggressive
in their service attempts
Volleyball notes
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
While the Oregon volleyball team
remains mired in a 26-match Pacif
ic-10 Conference losing streak, the
Ducks can take solace in the fact
that they have improved in at least
one offensive category.
Oregon has 132 service aces in its
first 19 contests, compared to 137
during the 2001 season. At their cur
rent pace, the Ducks, who average
just under seven aces per match, will
reach last season’s total when they
take on No. 13 UCLA on Friday in
Los Angeles.
If Oregon holds true to its pace for
the rest of the season, the Ducks
would finish with 222 aces.
While the Ducks occupy last place
in terms of wins and losses, they are
currently second in the Pac-10 in
service aces, only behind Washing
ton, which has averaged 2.34 aces
per game in Pac-10 play.
“We are an aggressive serving
team,” senior Lindsay Closs said. “We
just take it to every team we can.”
Gloss leads the Ducks with 24
aces while freshman Jodi Bell is
close behind at 23.
Bell hasn’t been the only fresh
man to light up the scoreboard from
beyond the service line. Kelly Rus
sell has 16 aces while Oregon’s fresh
man four — including Dariam
Acevedo and Jaclyn Jones — have
accumulated 53 total aces, good
enough for 40 percent of the team’s
output in the category.
“We end up jump-serving a little
bit more than we have in the past,”
head coach Carl Ferreira said about
the spike in service aces from last
season. “We wanted to take some
risks in regards to winning the serv
ing and passing matchup.
“If I’m a fan watching the match,
I’m wondering how a team can not
keep the ball in 900 square feet of
court. Well, at the same time, per
centages will tell you that if you al
low a team to stay in system, their
opportunities to side out are going to
be very, very high. So there is a risk
reward factor associated with the
serving matchup.”
Pac-lO’s best
The Ducks will be heading into a
lion’s den of sorts when they travel
to Los Angeles to take on the Bruins
on Friday, and No. 1 USG the follow
ing day.
Not only are the Trojans consid
ered to be the best team in the nation
— by rankings and by analysts —
they recendy defeated No. 4 Stanford,
allowing them to stake claim as the
team to beat in the Pac-10.
The Bruins, on the other hand, are
not as formidable to rest of the Pac-10,
but to Oregon, they are dominating.
The Ducks have never defeated UCLA
in Los Angeles, and have come out on
top just once — in 1987 — en route to
a 35-1 advantage in the all-time series
for the Bruins.
More on those freshmen
Not only have Oregon’s freshman
four been stellar on the serve this
season, they have also produced
during play, accounting for 373 of
Oregon’s 974 kills this season. That’s
equal to 38 percent of the team’s
output.
In fact, Russell was so good earli
er this season, she was named the
Most Valuable Player of the Fremont
Loan and Investment Tournament,
held in Northridge, Calif. Russell
came through with 42 kills as Ore
gon won all four matches it played
during the tournament.
Contact the sports reporter
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
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