Beavers to Host Civil War
November 03, 2015 | Women's Soccer
The Weekend: The Oregon State women's soccer team (6-9-3, 2-8-0 Pac-12) will wrap up its season Friday, when it plays host to Oregon (5-13-0, 2-8-0) at 2 p.m. at Paul Lorenz Field. The match will be part of the 2015-16 Civil War Series, presented by PacificSource Health Plans, McDonalds, Spirit Mountain Casino and Your Local Ford Stores.
Follow Along: Friday's match will be carried live on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Oregon, with Ann Schatz and Tammy Blackburn on the call. Live stats will be available on the women's soccer schedule page of OSUBeavers.com. Updates on all things Oregon State women's soccer can be found @OSU_WSoccer on Twitter.
Go Geist: Sophomore Bella Geist made her mark on the Oregon State squad in her freshman campaign, recording 126 saves, the second-highest total in single-season school history. She has recorded five clean sheets this year, giving her eight shutouts in her career. With 85 saves this season, she has 211 in her career, placing her fourth on Oregon State's all-time list. Geist needs 41 more saves to move into a tie for third all-time (Colleen Boyd, 2008-11 - 252).
Series History: Oregon State is 11-8-4 all-time in the Civil War Series, which dates back to
1988. The Ducks took the victory last season in Eugene, but the Beavers have protected the home field in recent years, as Oregon State has not lost a match to Oregon in Corvallis since 2003, and has not fallen in regulation since 1999.
Follow the Rhode: Oregon State head coach Linus Rhode has proven his ability to lead his teams to success over the course of his eight year run with the Beavers. Rhode has guided OSU to three NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure, including a Sweet 16 run in 2009. Overall, Rhode has notched 72 wins and four winning seasons in his time as the Beavers' top-man.
Spreading it Around: The Beavers have spread the scoring around evenly this season, with 11 players combining to score the team's 17 goals. Freshman Allison Pantuso leads Oregon State with three goals this year. Emma Jones, Nikki Faris and Mariah Roggow follow here with two goals apiece, while seven different players have found the net once.
Quite the Start: Oregon State finished nonconference play with a record of 4-1-3, with their only loss coming on the road at No. 8 BYU. The start to the season was the Beavers' best since they entered conference play with a record of 8-1-0 in 2012, and OSU's record this season is especially impressive considering the squad finished 2014 at 0-17-3.
Hitting the Road: Oregon State faced a challenging start to the year, playing just four of its first 11 games at home. That stretch took the Beavers across the country, as the team played matches in Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Utah, California and Arizona. Overall, just eight of OSU's 19 regular season games will be played a Paul Lorenz Field.
America's Team to Beaver Nation: Junior McKenzie Redberg has taken an unusual path to the Oregon State women's soccer team, serving a four-year stint in the United States Air Force prior to enrolling at OSU. Redberg, a medic during her years of service, is a Corvallis native and graduate of Corvallis High School. She has made three appearances for the Beavers this season.
Sophomore Up: Entering the 2015 season, 10 of Oregon State's 26 players are sophomores. Many members of that group gained valuable experience as freshmen last season. Kayla Latham and Miranda Stiver both found the net in their debut campaigns, while Nikki Faris, Maddie Misi, Natalie Higgins and Stiver each started all 20 games in 2014 as freshmen.
Historic Win: Oregon State notched a big win over UCLA on Saturday Oct. 17, taking down the Bruins for the fourth time in school history. The Beavers topped UCLA 2-1 on goals from Nikki Faris and Emma Jones to take their first win over the Bruins since 2010.
Game On Greta: Greta Espinoza joined the team with some impressive credentials on her resume. The Tijuana native played with the Mexican National Team at this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup. She also played for the Mexican National Team at the 2015 Pan American Games, and has competed at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups.
Getting Schooled: Five Beavers earned Academic All-Pac-12 honors last year, headlined by Kathryn Baker, who was named to the First Team after wrapping up the 2014 season with a 3.95 GPA as a Pre-Environmental Engineering major. Gwen Bieck, Annie Govig, Sabrina Santarossa and 2015 graduate Julia Sattler all earned Academic Honorable Mention.
Taylor Lifts The Lionesses: Former Beaver Jodie Taylor stepped up to the international stage this summer, helping lead England to a bronze medal at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Taylor, who wrapped up her Oregon State career in 2007, scored the Lionesses opening goal in their quarterfinal match against host Canada, helping England to its best-ever World Cup finish.
