Ducks Visit No. 10 Arkansas, Missouri State

Oregon begins a four-match road trip Thursday at No. 10 Arkansas (SEC+) and Sunday at Missouri State (ESPN+).

ON THE PITCH
• The Ducks will face the preseason favorites of the SEC (Arkansas) and the Big Sky (Northern Arizona) during the nonconference schedule as well as defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Missouri State. In conference action, Oregon will play five straight matches against teams that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament: USC (Oct. 5), defending NCAA champion UCLA (Oct. 8), Arizona State (Oct. 13), Stanford (Oct. 19) and California (Oct. 22). The Ducks played the 11th-toughest schedule in the nation in 2022 according to the final NCAA RPI report.
• Oregon returns Pac-12 all-freshman forward Ajanae Respass, who led the team with 4 goals and 10 points last season.
• The Ducks also return starters Anna Phillips and Anna Emperador on defense and Alice Barbieri and Trinity Morales in the midfield. Phillips has started 38 of 39 games the last three seasons. Barbieri also has 38 career caps. Morales had 6 points as a freshman (2G, 2A), while Emperador was one of two freshmen to play in all 19 matches in 2022.
• The Ducks are one of the youngest teams in the nation. Oregon's 29-player roster features 15 freshmen (10 true freshman, 5 RS-freshmen), 9 sophomores, 4 juniors, no seniors and 1 fifth-year player.
• Oregon will be looking to replace its all-time leader in assists (19), games played (92) and games started (90) in midfielder Zoe Hasenauer as well as its career leader in shutouts (18) and goals against average (1.05) in Leah Freeman.

FIRST TIME FOES
This week will mark the Ducks' first meeting with both Arkansas and Missouri State. Oregon is 3-4 all-time against current members of the SEC. UO's last meeting with an SEC school came in 2015, a 2-1 loss at LSU. The Ducks are 1-0 all-time versus the Missouri Valley Conference, having defeated Illinois State 5-1 in 2007.

GOLDBERG, FRESHMEN CLASS SET PACE VS. BAYLOR
Oregon got a strong performance in goal and the program's talented freshman class got its first taste of collegiate action, but ultimately the Ducks dropped their 2023 season opener at Papé Field to Baylor, 2-0, on Aug. 18. Making her first appearance since 2021, Maddy Goldberg had a career-high seven saves. She helped keep the game scoreless into the second half, until the Bears broke through with goals in the 66th and 74th minutes. Goldberg made her first start since Sept. 3, 2021, having redshirted the 2022 season behind Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year Leah Freeman. More than half of Oregon's 15-player freshman class played against Baylor, including four starters, and the class provided all five of the Ducks' shots in the match. The eight freshmen who made their Oregon debuts Thursday night were starters Mia McSweeney, Cameron Bourne, Myra Schneider and Kristen Conti, and reserves Grace Mensah, Ryann Reynolds, Lauren Kenny and Ella Osmussen. Additionally, both Callan Harrington and Livvy Moore returned to the field for the first time since being injured early last season.