EUGENE, Ore. – Non-conference play wrapped up on Sunday afternoon in Eugene, with Idaho soccer falling to Oregon, 2-0.
 
"We came out a little slow in the first half," said head coach Jeremy Clevenger.  "It's the second game in a row that we came out slow, so we definitely want to address that.  But we were very impressed with Oregon, they have a great team and a lot of dangerous players and they took advantage of our slow start."
 
The Ducks jumped out to an early lead, scoring in the 11^th minute.  Oregon was able to double its lead midway through the half.
 
"In the second half, we played with them," Clevenger said.  "We didn't get as many clean looks as we wanted, but we looked dangerous at times.  The second half was much better than the first half."
 
The story of the day was Julia Byerlein.  The fourth-year goalkeeper made her first appearance in a regular season contest as a Vandal and played tremendously well.  She made five saves on the day, including three huge stops inside the final 10 minutes to preserve the second half shutout.
 
"First of all, Jules played great," said Clevenger.  "She made a couple of big saves late to keep the Ducks off the board in the second half.  And overall I think everybody did well.  It's good when you get a game against a Pac-12 opponent and you feel comfortable going deep into your bench.  It was a good game for those players to see some minutes and get some confidence ahead of conference."
 
Big Sky play starts on Friday night with Portland State coming to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff.  Check back with GoVandals.com this week for more information.
 
"We just need to be ready to go on all cylinders," Clevenger said.  "Each game we've gotten better and better, I really feel that way.  I think going into conference we're right where we want to be and it's just about putting everything together."
 
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho soccer by following the team on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalsSoccer, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals Women's Soccer.

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.