Beavers Open Pac-10 Play in Arizona

GAME #12: Friday at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.: Oregon State (7-2-2) vs. Arizona State (5-3-2) at 7 PM. GAME #13: Sunday at Murphey Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.: Oregon State vs. #24 Arizona (7-4, hosts Oregon on Friday) at 1:00 PM.

Photo: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS - LOOKING AHEAD: The Oregon State women’s soccer team, with its best non-conference record since 2002, opens the Pacific-10 Conference season this weekend in the state of Arizona. It’s the second straight year that league play begins in the desert for the Beavers.

RANKINGS: Arizona is ranked #24 nationally by the NSCAA. In the Soccer Buzz West Region rankings, Arizona is #11 and Oregon State is #15.

ARIZONA STATE SERIES: OSU is 2-7 all-time against Arizona State. However, the Beavers have won the last two meetings, both by 1-0 scores on Jodie Taylor overtime golden goals. In 2005 in Tempe, she scored in the 96th minute, and in 2004 in Corvallis, she did it in the 109th minute. OSU is 1-4 all-time in Tempe.

ARIZONA SERIES: OSU is 6-4-1 all-time against Arizona. The Wildcats won 3-0 last year in Tucson, ending a three-game Beaver winning streak in the series. OSU is 2-4 all-time in Tucson.

LAST WEEK: In possibly one of the most dramatic finishes in school history, the Beavers were trailing winless Portland State at home, 1-0, with less than three minutes remaining. But Najma Homidi headed in the equalizer in the 88th minute, and Jodie Taylor struck in the 100th minute for the game-winner (the 14th of her career, setting a school record). Taylor was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for her efforts.

RECORDS WATCH: Jodie Taylor (Merseyside, England) is working her way up several OSU all-time records lists. She has career totals of 14 game-winning goals (first), 31 goals (tied for second), 77 points (third) and 15 assists (seventh). She needs three goals to tie for first all-time. She needs seven points to tie for second and eight to tie for first.

She needs one assist to move into the top five ... Taylor’s seven assists this season are already a career high and are tied for fourth on OSU’s single-season list ... With each solo shutout, Melissa Onstad (Castro Valley, Calif./Castro Valley HS) extends her own school record, which currently stands at 24.

OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS: Through 11 games, the Beavers are averaging 1.91 goals per game, which if it keeps up, would be quite an improvement over last year’s 1.26 goals per game. OSU brought in several attack-minded freshmen to improve the offense, and they have done well, scoring 11 of the 21 goals. Ten different players (six of them freshmen) have scored a goal (only five players scored a goal all last year).

JODIE TAYLOR: Junior forward Jodie Taylor is well on her way to becoming OSU’s most prolific player ever. This season, she has six goals (four game-winners) and seven assists for a team-high 19 points. At one point this season, she had a goal or an assist on eight straight Beaver goals, and she has had a hand in 13 of OSU’s 21 goals.

When she scores a goal, OSU’s record is 18-6, and when she scores a point, OSU’s record is 22-6-2. She has been named to three all-tournament teams in 2006 and was named Pac-10 Player of the Week on Oct. 3rd following her golden goal against Portland State.

Taylor is a two-time All-Pac-10 first team selection (the only player ever to earn that honor twice at OSU) and a two-time All-West Region selection, in addition to being named a 2004 Freshman All-American and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. She is also a member of England’s U-21 National Team, and played this summer with the Boston Renegades in the W-League.

DEFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS: OSU’s defense has been very good thus far, with a 0.78 goals-against average (nine goals allowed in 11 games) and five shutouts. Six of the nine goals given up have been to 2005 NCAA Tournament teams. Senior Melissa Onstad already holds most of OSU’s goalkeeping records and is trying to add to her legacy.

A four-year starter and a co-captain, she entered the season as the school’s all-time leader in goals-against average (1.09). In 2006, she has a 0.70 goals-against average and 34 saves in 11 starts. Onstad and senior defender Lauren Wippel (Wilsonville/Wilsonville HS) are the only players in the back to start all 11 games. Junior Monica Storm (Chino, Calif./Ayala HS), a former U.S. youth national team member, is one of the standouts.

ODDS & ENDS: Junior midfielder Jetta Sadusky (Littleton, Colo./Columbine HS/Nebraska) has doubled her assist total of last year and has four this season, second on the team ... Freshman forward Jessica Velazquez (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar HS) scored a goal in four consecutive games earlier this year, one of only seven OSU players ever to score in at least four straight games. At Long Island, she scored an 89th-minute goal to help OSU to a 1-1 tie.

Freshman midfielder Najma Homidi (Fremont, Calif./Washington HS) scored an 88th-minute goal vs. Portland State, sending the game to overtime and an eventual OSU victory ... Five freshmen have started at least half the games this year: Homidi, Velazquez, defender Sophie Clough (Ashton-under-Lyne, England), defender Red Nixon (Centennial, Colo./Heritage HS) and midfielder Melissa Peck (Boise, Idaho/Borah HS).

PAC-10 STATS: OSU is tied for second in goals per game (1.91) and seventh in goals-against average (0.78) ... Jodie Taylor leads the conference in points (19) and shots (47) and is tied for first in assists (seven), tied for second in goals (six) and tied for second in game-winning goals (four) ... Jessica Velazquez is tied for fourth in goals (five) and sixth in points (11) ... Jetta Sadusky is tied for third in assists (four) ... Melissa Onstad is tied for second in shutouts (five), fourth in saves (34) and sixth in goals-against average (0.70).

EXPERIENCE: Nine of last year’s 11 starters have returned (although one is injured), and 13 letterwinners are back off of last year’s team that went 10-8-1 overall and 3-5-1 in the Pac-10 for eighth place. Returning players accounted for 83% of last year’s goals, as well as 73% of the assists and 80% of the points. There are 10 newcomers on the 25-woman roster.

INJURIES: OSU’s improved depth has come in handy due to several injuries. Senior Alison Vislay (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley HS) has been a standout for years but will miss the season and redshirt after suffering a knee injury in the spring. Her fellow centerback, junior Monica Storm suffered a concussion in the opener against Gonzaga and missed two games.

Junior forward Whitney Goodell (Concord, Calif./College Park HS) began the year as a starter but broke a foot in the UAB game and is out six weeks. Senior midfielder Jen Crump (Santa Maria, Calif./Ernest Righetti HS) missed the first two games of her career after suffering a knee injury against Portland, but she has returned to action.

2006 HONORS: Najma Homidi, Red Nixon and Jodie Taylor were named to the WSU Cougar Classic all-tournament team ... Jessica Velazquez was named Offensive MVP and Nixon was named Defensive MVP of the OSU Nike Invitational. They were joined on the all-tournament team by Homidi, Taylor, Melissa Peck and Kelsey Provo.

Taylor was the Offensive MVP of the OSU Soccer Classic and Monica Storm was the Defensive MVP: They were joined on the all-tournament team by Velazquez, Sophie Clough and Melissa Onstad ... In addition to her Offensive MVP honors, Taylor was named to the Soccer Buzz Team of the Week for three-goal, three-assist weekend against Iona and New Hampshire.

A BAD DAY: Freshman defender Sophie Clough’s flight from England to the United States to join up with the Beavers was scheduled the day that the London airline terror plot was foiled in early August; the airline lost some of her baggage and she went through long delays.

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