Chardonnay Curran knows her first goal of the season came with a little help from above.
The Oregon sophomore midfielder and 2017 Campbell alumna scored the game-winner in the 79th minute to help the Ducks snap a 16-match losing streak to Portland on Friday with a 2-1 victory at Merlo Field in Portland, Ore.
Curran, who spent Oregon’s bye week home in Hawaii to be with family after the death of her grandmother, notched her first goal from point-blank range to give Oregon its first win over Portland since the soccer program was restored in 1996.
“Honestly, it’s been tough,” Curran said in a press release. “I know she was with me tonight.”
Curran’s goal came off a long, high ball from the right side that she tapped into the left side of the goal from roughly 5 yards out.
The Ducks finished the nonconference slate 6-1-1 entering Friday’s Pac-12 opener against Utah at home. Oregon is second in the Pac-12 and No. 17 in the nation in the latest RPI rankings.
Watanabe the hero for Idaho
Idaho redshirt junior Kayla Watanabe, a 2015 Mid-Pacific alumna, scored the Vandals’ first overtime goal in nearly eight years for a thrilling 3-2 victory over Seattle University on Thursday.
Idaho tied the game in the 86th minute and Watanabe scored on a header roughly two minutes into overtime to snap a streak of 29 consecutive overtimes without a goal for Idaho dating back to 2010.
Seattle was playing a woman down after a second yellow card was given to a player in the 87th minute.
“That was the talk, we had to take advantage of the red card,” Idaho coach Jeremy Clevenger said in a press release. “Our players just battled back to find that second goal and took advantage of a great moment in overtime.”
Watanabe, who redshirted last season after suffering a knee injury, is one of two Vandals to score a team-high two goals through the first nine matches.
She has come off the bench in all nine matches but still leads the team in shots on goal. Both of her goals this season are game-winners.
Idaho senior Megan Goo (‘Iolani ’15), a 5-foot-4 forward who started 16 games last season and had two goals and three assists, has not played this season.
AROUND THE NATION
>> Kendall Stovall,Kamehameha ’18: The Nevada freshman goalkeeper made five saves in a 1-1 tie against Hawaii on Thursday. Stovall has played every minute in goal for the Wolf Pack (3-3-2) this season and is allowing 0.95 goals per match with an .818 save percentage. She was one of four Wolf Pack players from Hawaii to play against the Rainbow Wahine. Nevada has five players total from the islands.
>> Taiana Tolleson, Konawaena ’16: The Vanderbilt junior goalkeeper has started all nine matches for the Commodores, who are 8-1 this season. She has played only the first half in seven of them and allowed just three goals.
>> Makamae Gomera-Stevens, Kamehameha ’17: The Washington State sophomore scored two goals in a 3-1 victory over Montana on Friday and added an assist in a 4-1 win over Cal Poly on Sunday. The Cougars are 7-0 heading into Friday’s Pac-12 opener against UCLA.
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Compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser
