Beavers Set for Lone Star State Showdown
September 08, 2015 | Women's Soccer
The Weekend: The Oregon State women's soccer team will face its second-consecutive Big 12 opponent this week, when it heads to Austin to take on Texas. The game will be played at 4:30 p.m. PT at Texas' Mike A. Meyers Stadium.
Follow Along: Thursday's game will be televised on the Longhorn Network with Glenn Davis (play-by-play) and Monica Gonzalez (analyst) calling the action. Fans can watch the game based on their cable company/subscription package via WatchESPN.com or on the WatchESPN app. Live audio will be available via the Longhorn Network here: www.TexasSports.com/audio. Live stats are available at this link: http://www.sidearmstats.com/texas/wsoc/
The Series: Thursday will mark the second ever meeting for the Beavers and Longhorns, with the first coming two years ago in Corvallis. Oregon State won that matchup 1-0 on a 48th minute goal from Brandi Dawson.
Quite the Start: Oregon State is 4-0-1 this season, the team's best start since it went 5-0-0 to start the 2010 campaign. The start is even more impressive, considering the Beavers went 0-17-3 last season with one of the youngest teams in the nation.
After scoring four goals all of last season, Oregon State has doubled that total already in its first five matches. Four 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 have found the back of the net one time each.
Dominant Defense: Oregon State has held its opponents to just two goals in the first five matches of the year, including a trio of shutouts. The Beavers have not allowed a goal in their last two matches, and have held their opponents off the board for the 224 consecutive minutes, dating back to the 78th minute of their Aug. 30 match against San Francisco.
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 three clean sheets this year, giving her six shutouts in her career. With 24 saves this season, she has 150 in her career and needs 38 more to move into sixth on Oregon State's career list (Sammy-Jo Prudhomme, 188, 2012-13).
Historic Win: The Beavers posted a historic win over Portland in the season opener when they topped the Pilots 2-1 on a goal from freshman Allison Pantuso in the 110th minute. The victory was Oregon State's second ever at Portland's Merlo Field (the other was 2012) and improved its all-time record against the Pilots to 3-23-2.
Pantuso Debut: Freshman Allison Pantuso wasted no time in making her presence felt for the Beavers. The Oaks Christian High School graduate scored a goal in the 52nd minute against Portland, just seven minutes after entering the game as a halftime substitute. She would proceed to net the game winner 22 seconds before the second overtime period expired.
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.
National Honors: Bella Geist and Allison Pantuso were named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week following the Beavers 2-1 double-overtime victory at Portland. Greta Espinoza earned Honorable Mention national honors by TopDrawerSoccer.com after the Beavers knocked off Fresno State and San Francisco.
Plenty of Firsts: Sophomores Natalie Higgins and Emma Jones each had their first career goal and assist this season, while junior Sabrina Santarossa and sophomore Nikki Faris both notched their first career assist.
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).
