“We all just kind of instantly bonded, and had that connection.” -Chloe Stevens, Forward

The Lane United FC Women’s Team kicked off their 2024 campaign in scorching conditions last Saturday as they faced Western Oregon University. It was a gritty game, but Lane United FC was able to pull out a 1-0 win. 

Women’s Head Coach Jurgen Ruckaberle explained that the message going into the game was to “start learning about each other.” That’s because the team only had three training sessions before Saturday’s match. However, they were still able to get a good result thanks to a 20th-minute strike by Chloe Stevens. 

When talking to Stevens, she was very happy to start the season with a goal and felt that this result could “build momentum into the next game.” When asked about the lack of training sessions heading into the opener, she said, “It went better than we all expected. We all just kind of instantly bonded and had that connection. Also, the communication was there.”

A key figure in that blossoming team connection in Saturday’s game was midfielder Neve Duston. She was a calming presence in possession and did an amazing job of transitioning the ball from the backline to the attack. When asked about her personal goals she said, “We want to win as many games as we can for this amazing club.” 

Overall, The Reds will be very happy with their 1-0 victory and will look to continue to grow heading into their next match and USL W League opener on Sunday, May 19th, away versus Capital FC.