Beavers Return Home for a Pair of Pac-12 Tilts
October 17, 2013 | Men's Soccer
LOOKING AHEAD: The Oregon State men's soccer team (7-5-0, 0-3-0 Pac-12) will return home this week to take on No. 5/5 UCLA (7-3-1, 2-1-0 Pac-12) and San Diego State (3-6-1, 0-2-1) at Paul Lorenz Field.
FOLLOW ALONG: Links to live stats for the game will be available at osubeavers.com, and Friday's contest will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks. You can also follow @OSUBeavers_MSOC and @CoachSimmo on twitter for updates on Oregon State men's soccer.
SCOUTING UCLA: The Bruins are currently third in the Pac-12 with a 2-1-0 conference record, to go with a 7-3-1 overall record. UCLA has won back-to-back Pac-12 Conference Championships, but is coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 1/1 California on Sunday. The Bruins are led by Leo Stolz, who has 14 points this season on five goals and four assists. Victor Chavez follows him with 12 points on five goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. has recorded five shutouts in 11 games this season, and has allowed 14 goals. The Bruins are coached by Jorge Salcedo, who is in his 10th season with the team, boasting a record of 123-49-28
The Beavers are 4-26-1 all-time against the Bruins, with all four of their victories coming in Corvallis. Oregon State's last point against UCLA came in 2009, when the Beavers tied the Bruins 1-1 in Los Angeles. Oregon State's last win in the series came in 2005, a 1-0 victory in Corvallis.
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs earned their first point of the Pac-12 season this week, when they tallied a 3-3 draw with Stanford on Sunday. San Diego State is currently 0-2-1 in conference play, and 3-6-1 overall on the season. Abraham Villon tops the Aztecs with 14 points on five goals and four assists, while Jordan Ongaro has 10 points on five goals. Goalkeeper Blake Hylen is second in the conference with 37 saves this season, and has recorded two shutouts. The Aztecs are coached by Lev Kirshner, who is 97-114-44 in 14 seasons with San Diego State.\
The Beavers are 10-7-2 all-time against the Aztecs, including a 5-2-2 mark in home games. Oregon State beat San Diego State 1-0 in San Diego last season, before tying the Aztecs 1-1 in Corvallis. The Beavers' last home win over San Diego State came in 2009, when Oregon State edged the Aztecs 2-1 in overtime.
PROTECTING THE FORT: Oregon State set a new school record when it recorded its sixth-straight home victory to open the season against Northwest Christian on Sept. 27. The Beavers previous mark of five was set over the span of the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Oregon State will look to add to that number this weekend, as it returns home for a pair of matches. The longest home unbeaten streak in Beaver history is 10 games, played over the course of the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
KNOCKING-OUT NONCONFERENCE: The Beavers closed out nonconference play with seven victories, the most an Oregon State team has tallied since the 2002 squad won nine nonconference matches. Oregon State won six non-league games in both 2003 and 2004. The Beavers' all-time record for nonconference wins in a season in which a conference slate was played came in 1994, when Oregon State won 10 nonconference games. The Beavers won 11 games in their inaugural 1988 season, a year in which Oregon State played no conference matches.
BEAVERS IN THE NCAA: Oregon State enters this week 25th in the nation in scoring average with 1.91 goals per game, and 34th in the nation in points, with 61. Individually, sophomore Matt Bersano is 38th in total saves with 48.
KEEPING IT FRESH: The Oregon State freshman class has made its presence felt during the opening month of the season. Devonte Small has started 11 matches so far, tallying one assist to go along with 15 shots. Classmate Ole Sandnes recorded three points on one goal and one assist in his collegiate debut, and has tallied two more goals since to bring his season total to seven points. Matt Arbogast has one assist in six appearances this season, while Michael Steele has one goal in eight appearances. Brendan Woodfull has one assist in five appearances.
