Beavers Set to Open Pac-12 Play at USC
September 22, 2015 | Women's Soccer
The Weekend: The Oregon State women's soccer team opens Pac-12 play this week with a rare Saturday match, when the Beavers take on USC at 1 p.m. in Los Angeles, Calif.
Follow Along: Live stats for Saturday's match can be found on the women's soccer schedule page of OSUBeavers.com. Live updates for all games this season can be found on Twitter, @OSU_WSoccer.
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 is 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.
After scoring four goals all of last season, Oregon State has more than doubled that total already in its first eight matches. Five different players have scored a goal this season, led by freshman Allison Pantuso with three. Freshman Mariah Roggow has scored twice, while sophomores Emma Jones and Natalie Higgins, and junior Helene Haavik have found the back of the net one time each.
Dominant Defense: Oregon State has held its opponents to just four goals in the first eight matches of the year, including four shutouts. The Beavers have allowed just two goals in their last three matches, and after their 0-0 draw against San Diego on Sunday, Oregon State is now riding a streak of 187 minutes without allowing a goal.
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 already recorded four clean sheets this year, giving her seven shutouts in her career. With 32 saves this season, she has 158 in her career and needs 30 more to move into sixth on Oregon State's career list (Sammy-Jo Prudhomme, 188, 2012-13).
Hitting the Road: Saturday will mark the final contest in Oregon State's gruelling six-game road swing that will leave the Beavers without a home game for 33 days. The nearly five-week span has seen the Beavers take on some very difficult opposition, including No. 8 BYU, SEC foe Missouri, Big 12 opponents Kansas and Texas, and this week, Pac-12 foe USC.
Wasting No Time: Oregon State freshmen Allison Pantuso and Mariah Roggow have already accounted for more than half of the Beavers nine goals this season. Pantuso has netted three goals in seven substitute appearances, while Roggow has scored two while starting all seven matches. Sophomores Emma Jones and Natalie Higgins have tallied on goal apiece as well, giving the underclassmen a total of eight goals. The only Oregon State upperclassman to score this year is junior Helene Haavik.
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.
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.
Get the (Pac-12) Net: The Beavers will make six appearances on Pac-12 Networks this season, beginning with the home opener against Fresno State. OSU will also appear on TV on Friday Oct. 2 vs. Utah, Thursday Oct. 8 at Stanford, Friday Oct. 30 vs. Washington, Sunday Nov. 1 vs. Washington State and Friday Nov. 6 vs. Oregon. The Beavers will also be on TV against Missouri on Friday, Sept. 4 (SEC Network) and Texas on Thursday, Sept. 10 (Longhorn Network).
