University of Oregon forward Nicole Garbin scored two goals and Caitlin Gamble added another to give the visiting Ducks a 3-1 victory over Sacramento State Sunday afternoon. The Hornets fall to 1-3 while Oregon stays undefeated at 5-0.The first half was a physical, scoreless battle until a mental error by Hornet goalkeeper Stephanie Shaw helped put Oregon on the scoreboard. In the 44th minute the freshman goalkeeper shoved Garbin to the ground while in pursuit of a loose ball.

The foul resulted in a yellow-card for Shaw and the Ducks capitalized with a goal by Garbin on the ensuing penalty shot to give Oregon the 1-0 lead. “It was a freshman mistake, a stupid foul, but she’ll learn from it,” head coach Karen Hanks said.

The Ducks would find the net again to start off the second half. In the 50th minute Sophomore Cristan Higa sent a corner kick to Garbin, who somehow tapped it in the net among a crowd of defenders, putting Oregon up 2-0.Freshman forward Kelly Novak put the Hornets on the board with her first collegiate goal in the 65th minute. Sophomore Marissa Condren found Novak, who sent a shot from the far corner of the goal box that settled just over the goal line, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Gamble would put the game out of Sac State’s reach with a goal in the 81st minute. Garbin found Gamble open on a cross and she scored with a slow-roller passed Shaw to give the Ducks an insurmountable 3-1 lead.

The Hornets saw a few golden opportunities slip through their fingers in the second half. On a play with Oregon leading 2-0, senior midfielder Nicole Novoa had a clear shot from straight away that missed just wide of the right post. In another sequence, a Hornet shot deflected off the outstretched fingertips of Oregon goalkeeper Domenique Lainez and the ball tight-roped the length of the goal line before rolling out of bounds.

“We competed, but we had a couple of breakaways that just didn’t go our way,” Hanks said after the loss.

Shaw had recorded seven saves by the end of the game.

Novak made the most of her return to action by scoring the Hornets’ only goal after sitting out previous matches with a groin injury. Natalia Romo and Linda Sanchez remain sidelined with injuries.

“It looks like Natalia’s injury will be season ending and that hurts,” Hanks said of Romo who has a stress fracture in her leg.

“Having Linda Sanchez out hurts us too, but we have girls really stepping up,” she said.

The Hornets will host the Princeton University Tigers at 5 p.m. on Friday at Hornet Soccer Field. Princeton travels to Sacramento with a 3-0 record after defeating the Saint Louis University Billikens 2-1 Sunday at Princeton.

Their other victories include a 4-1 win over American University and a 3-0 shutout over the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Princeton is led by junior midfielder Esmeralda Negron and sophomore forward Maura Gallagher. Negron, a first-team All-Ivy league selection in 2002, has scored a goal in each of their three wins. Gallagher scored a goal in each of the Tigers’ first two wins.

Princeton’s offense has been potent, out shooting their opponents 74-21 and outscoring them 9-2.

Sophomore goalkeepers Madeleine Jackson and Emily Vogelzang anchor the defense. The duo has allowed only two goals in three games.

A thorn in the Hornets side early in the season has been lack of offensive ball control. Through four games Sac State has been out shot 78-30.