Ducks continue to iron out wrinkles in second exhibition matchup

EUGENE, Ore. — At Pape’ Field on Friday, the Oregon women’s soccer team was back on the pitch in an exhibition match against the Idaho Vandals, as Coach Tracy Joyner and her Ducks continue to find their identity heading into the regular season.

Despite the game finishing nil-nil after 90 minutes of play, Joyner says she’s happy with the way her team responded in the second half.

“The second half was better in terms of just like, a bite to us,” said Joyner. “A little bit more of an edge. I think we were hesitant to go into a tackle, just unsure of where we needed to be, but the second half, you know, permission to compete, and they got after it a little more and I think that that changed kind of the flow of the game a bit. So, that was really the main thing, like a mentality shift of, hey, when you see the ball go win it, don’t back off, don’t be hesitant.

“So, I don’t think that Idaho was able to generate as much possession as they had in the first half. We took away some options just from some physicality, mentality, and it helped for sure.”

The Ducks now shift their focus to their season opener August 14 against visiting Weber State.