The 2007 soccer season came to a bittersweet end Sunday when the Ducks were blanked by California 3-0. The final series against the Bay Area pair was as good a snapshot as any of Oregon's fortunes. A tough hard fought 0-0 tie against 5th ranked Stanford on Friday opened the set but the second 60 minutes without a home team goal was more than the defense could withstand on Sunday.
The Ducks finished with a 8-8-4 overall record and 1-4-4. Last season's 2nd place conference finish served to highlight how much the Ducks relied upon the graduated Nicole Garbin's offense, something the current Ducks weren't able to consistently find.
"There were just ups and downs and no consistency," said head coach Tara Erickson. That's just been a big problem we've had all season. There have been good things and bad things along the way but overall I'm disappointed."
For two seniors, Sunday's match was their last in an Oregon jersey. Both Dylan Tharp and Tiffany Smith expressed disappointment at their final result.
"This is definitely a rough ending," said Tharp. "I think a problem this season has been just the mentality for playing 90 minutes."
" I felt like (.the preseason loss to) Montana kind of rocked us off a little bit, and set us up to have a rocky Pac-10 season" said Smith.
