|
Friday's match |
Sunday's match |
|
Opponent: Oregon |
Opponent: Portland State |
|
Location: Eugene, Ore. |
Location: Portland, Ore. |
|
Time: 7 p.m. |
Time: 1 p.m. |
SAN FRANCISCO—The Dons split their contests over the weekend in the sweltering heat of the Midwest and now head north to face Oregon and Portland State this week.
"We've just really been battling more than anything, trying to make sure our opponents don't get turned and run at us," Dons defender
Halle Bissin said. "We're just trying to get tight on their backs and not give them room to play. We want to make them play backwards because when teams start running at us, that's when we have problems."
The Dons played in two tight contests against Kansas and Nebraska in the Kansas Invitational last weekend. The game against Nebraska got away from them as the Cornhuskers scored twice following an
Abigail Phillips red card in the second half. USF bounced back quickly with a win over host Kansas on Sunday.
It was USF's first win over a Big 12 school since 2001. The Dons have the chance to accomplish a similar feat when they take on Oregon. USF has not defeated a Pac-12 school since 2004 when they hosted Oregon State. The Dons have not faced the Ducks since 2003.
"At this point we have nothing to lose," Bissin said. "We're such an underdog. People still have that mindset, 'Oh, it's USF we should beat them.' But I think for us it gives us extra motivation to want to come out and beat these teams."
The win over Kansas also marked the fourth shutout in its first seven matches and that 57.1 percent gives the Dons the 36th best shutout percentage in the nation.
"My defense is a big part to the success that our team has had," USF goalie
Madalyn Schiffel said. "Our games have been really close. Our communication between everyone is getting so much better and continuing over the games, it's going to get a lot better."
Oregon (2-4-1) played No. 6 BYU to a 0-0 tie last weekend and has not garnered a win since Sept. 1 against Texas. Bri Pugh, ShayLee Miner, and Brooke Strawn each have two goals for the Ducks.
Portland State has won three of its last four matches after dropping the first three. The Vikings have scored 13 goals in those four matches. Eyrn Brown has a team-high five goals entering the weekend.
The Dons are in the midst of a five-game road trip which will wrap up when they play Long Beach State on Sept. 26.
Video will be available for the matchup with Oregon at
http://pac-12.com/videos/university-oregon and with Portland State at
http://www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp.
