OSU Women’s Soccer Hosting OSU Soccer Classic This Weekend

Participating in this year's event along with the Beavers are Oregon, New Hampshire, and Iona.

Salem-News.com

CORVALLIS - LOOKING AHEAD — The Oregon State women’s soccer team (2-1-1), following a first-place finish at its own OSU Nike Invitational, hosts its second four-team event in a row with the OSU Soccer Classic, presented by Tursi’s Soccer, this weekend at Lorenz Field. Oregon, New Hampshire and Iona are also participating.

GAME #5 — Friday at Lorenz Field: Oregon (0-3) vs. New Hampshire (1-1) at 3:30 PM, followed by Oregon State vs. Iona (0-3-1) at 7:30 PM. Friday is a quadrupleheader at Oregon State, as there are men’s games at 1:30 and 5:30 PM.

GAME #6 — Sunday at Lorenz Field: Oregon vs. Iona at 11:00 AM, followed by Oregon State vs. New Hampshire at 1:00 PM.

RANKINGS — The Beavers are tied for #15 in the Soccer Buzz West Region poll.

SCOUTING IONA — This is the first meeting between OSU and Iona. The Gaels have lost to Seton Hall, Fordham and UMass, and tied Columbia. Freshman forward Mariel Pepe and junior forward Maggie Prairie have the team’s two goals this season, but Iona has been outscored 8-2. Iona returns 10 starters from last year’s team, which went 10-8-1 and placed fourth in the MAAC.

SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE — Oregon State is 1-0 all-time against New Hampshire, beating the Wildcats 4-0 at Lorenz Field in 2004. Jodie Taylor scored the first Beaver goal. New Hampshire has lost to Brown and defeated UMass so far this season. Four different players have scored a goal for UNH. Last season, the Wildcats went 9-8-2 and tied for fourth in the America East Conference.

SCOUTING OREGON — The Ducks have lost all of their games this season by one goal: to Long Beach State (1-0), UC Riverside (1-0) and Loyola Marymount (2-1). Sophomore defender Allison Newton has scored Oregon’s lone goal. Last season, the Ducks went 9-9-1 and finished ninth in the Pac-10.

OSU SOCCER CLASSIC RULES — Though it’s not a true tournament, a first-place finisher will be determined based on results from the two days of competition. Three points are awarded for a win, and one point for a tie. Tie-breakers are in the order of: (1) head-to-head, (2) goal differential, (3) total goals scored.

STEVE FENNAH SAYS — “We obviously played very well last weekend. We put a lot of the pieces together in terms of possession and finishing. It is nice to see the team come together in that way. I feel good about this year’s team. We just have to keep on task and I think we’ll do very well. When you play two out-of-region teams like New Hampshire and Iona, you never really know what to expect, but I’m sure they will be very good competition for us.”

LAST WEEK — The Beavers got their home season off to a rousing start with a first-place finish in the OSU Nike Invitational. They defeated Northern Colorado, 1-0, and UAB, 5-1. The five goals were the most by OSU since October 2002 against Arizona. Jessica Velazquez scored the game-winning goal both days and was named Offensive MVP. Red Nixon assisted on the game-winner against UNC and was Defensive MVP. Kelsey Provo scored her first two collegiate goals against UAB, while Naj Homidi netted her first. Jodie Taylor had a goal and two assists and Melissa Peck had two assists.

2006 HONORS — Naj 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.

HOME OPENERS — Following the win over Northern Colorado, OSU is 12-7 all-time in home openers and has won the last five.

OFFENSE — Through four games, the Beavers are averaging 2.00 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 four of the eight goals and providing three of the seven assists.

DEFENSE — For much of the early season, OSU has been without its two primary center backs. The Beavers already knew that they would be without Alison Vislay, who suffered a knee injury in the spring. But they also lost Monica Storm for 2 1/2 games after she suffered a concussion in the season opener against Gonzaga (she returned for the UAB game). Still, OSU has given up just four goals in four games and has a 0.95 goals-against average.

ROSTER NOTES — 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.

2006 SCHEDULE — Both the 2005 national champion (Portland) and runner-up (UCLA) make visits to Corvallis, highlighting the 2006 schedule. In addition to Portland, OSU has already faced 2005 NCAA Tournament teams UNLV and Gonzaga in non-conference play. The Beavers host two four-team events (the OSU Nike Invitational and the OSU Soccer Classic) on Sept. 1-3 and Sept. 8-10. The always-tough Pac-10 season features five NCAA Tournament teams (Arizona, California, Stanford, USC and UCLA).

JODIE TAYLOR — Junior forward Jodie Taylor (Merseyside, England) is well on her way to becoming OSU’s most prolific player ever. This season, she has one goal and three assists for a team-high five points. She already ranks second in school history in game-winning goals (10) and is tied for third in goals (26) and fourth in points (63). When she scores a goal, OSU’s record is 14-6, and when she scores a point, OSU’s record is 19-6-1. Taylor is a two-time All-Pac-10 first team selection (the only player ever to earn that honor twice at Oregon State) 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.

RETURNING ATTACKERS — Junior Whitney Goodell (Concord, Calif./College Park HS) has seen a great deal of time with Taylor up front. She began 2006 with a goal against Gonzaga. The Beavers boast two seniors as their starting central midfielders in Jen Crump (Santa Maria, Calif./Ernest Righetti HS) and Kelli Washburn (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS). Junior Jetta Sadusky (Littleton, Colo./Columbine HS) did very well after transferring in last year from Nebraska, and she has one assist this season. Sophomore Kelsey Provo (Eugene, Ore./Sheldon HS) scored the first two goals of her career against UAB.

RETURNING DEFENDERS — The Beavers tied a school record by surrendering only 22 goals last season. All of the starters are back, but unfortunately, senior co-captain Alison Vislay (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley HS) will likely miss the season due to a knee injury suffered in the spring. Still, OSU boasts a formidable back line with the other returning starters: junior Monica Storm (Chino, Calif./Ayala HS), a former U.S. youth national team member; senior Lauren Wippel (Wilsonville, Ore./Wilsonville HS) and sophomore McKenna Martindale (Lake Oswego, Ore./Lake Oswego HS).

MELISSA ONSTAD — Senior Melissa Onstad (Castro Valley, Calif./Castro Valley HS) already holds most of OSU’s goalkeeping records and will be looking to add to her legacy. A four-year starter and a co-captain, she enters the season as the school’s all-time leader in goals-against average (1.09). Her 20 solo shutouts are also a school record. In 2006, she has a 0.74 goals-against average and 15 saves in four starts.

NEW STARLETS — Several freshmen are seeing extensive playing time this year, including defender Sophie Clough (Ashton-under-Lyne, England), forward Emily Henshaw (Hillsboro, Ore./Jesuit HS), midfielder Naj Homidi (Fremont, Calif,/Washington HS), defender/midfielder Loretta “Red” Nixon (Centennial, Colo./Heritage HS), midfielder Melissa Peck (Boise, Idaho/Borah HS) and forward Jessica Velazquez (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar HS). Clough has started all four games on the back line. Homidi scored her first goal on a header against UAB and has made two all-tournament teams. Nixon has started all four games, was the Defensive MVP of the OSU Nike Invitational and has made two all-tournament teams. Peck scored the Beavers’ goal against UNLV and had two assists against UAB. Velazquez had the game-winning goal in back-to-back games against Northern Colorado and UAB and was the Offensive MVP of the OSU Nike Invitational.

HEAD COACH STEVE FENNAH — Ninth-year head coach Steve Fennah became the school’s all-time winningest coach in 2004. He’s led OSU to three 10-win seasons in the last five years, and the Beavers achieved their first national ranking in a decade in 2005. Fennah, a native of Wales, has had 58 Pac-10 All-Academic selections in his first eight years.

LORENZ FIELD AT VALLEY STADIUM — OSU’s home since 1996, Lorenz Field at Valley Stadium is one of the nicest fields on the West Coast. It seats 1,500 fans and has an enclosed press box on the west sideline. Lights have been added in 2006, giving more fans the opportunity to attend night games. The Beavers are 47-49-3 playing on Lorenz Field, and are 14-5-1 since the start of the 2004 season. There is no charge for admission to OSU soccer games.

SUMMER STANDOUTS — Jodie Taylor joined up with the English U-21 National Team a couple of times, and took part in the Nordic Cup in July. She also played for the Boston Renegades in the W-League. ... Jetta Sadusky helped the Colorado Rush win the U-19 club national championship.

ODDS & ENDS — Freshman defender Sophie Clough’s flight from England to the United States to join up with the Beavers came a day after the London airline terror plot was foiled in early August; the airline lost some of her baggage and she went through long delays ... The worst time in the world to give up a goal is at 89:59, but that’s what happened when UNLV scored to force overtime, and the Beavers and Rebels settled for a 1-1 tie in Pullman, Wash., on Aug. 27th.

UP NEXT — OSU plays its biggest non-conference game of the season, as Portland, the defending NCAA champion, visits Corvallis on Friday, Sept. 15th.

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