Beavers Set to Open Pac-12 Play
October 02, 2013 | Men's Soccer
LOOKING AHEAD: The Oregon State men's soccer team (7-2-0, 0-0-0 Pac-12) will open conference play this week, as it heads south to take on No. 1/1 California (6-0-1) and Stanford (5-1-1). The Beavers will face the Golden Bears Thursday at 4 p.m., before taking on the Cardinal Sunday at 3 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG: Links to live stats for both games will be available at osubeavers.com, and SUnday'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 CALIFORNIA: California has opened the season with an undefeated 6-0-1 record, and has received a great deal of attention in the national polls, currently sitting No. 1 in both the NSCAA rankings and the Soccer America Poll. The Golden Bears' early season success has been highlighted by wins over No. 8 Maryland and No. 12 Georgetown. Steve Birnbaum leads the Pac-12 with five goals, while Alec Sundley and Stefano Bonomo have tallied three goals apiece. Seth Casiple tops the conference in assists with four.
The Beavers are 9-25-3 all-time against the Golden Bears, and 3-15-1 in games played in Berkeley. Oregon State's last win over Cal came in 2011, 2-1 in Corvallis. The Beavers last point in Berkeley came in a 2-2 draw, also in 2011, while their last road win over the Bears came in 2003, the last season the Beavers made the NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING STANFORD: Stanford has opened the season 5-1-1 and has a 3-1-1 record at home. The Cardinal earned a draw with No. 8 Maryland early in the season, and is coming off a 2-1 overtime victory over UC Santa Barbara. Zach Batteer leads the Cardinal with four goals, while Aaron Kovar and Jordan Morris have recorded three assists apiece. Goalkeeper Drew Hutchins has allowed just seven goals in seven games this season, and has recorded three clean-sheets.
The Beavers are 6-65-5 all-time against Stanford, including a 2-16-1 mark in road contests. Oregon State's last win at Stanford came in 2005.
LAST TIME OUT: The Beavers defeated Northwest Christian 5-0 in their final nonconference game of the 2013 season. Junior Will Seymore recorded a goal and an assist in the contest, while freshman Ole Sandnes tallied his second goal of the season. Sophomore Mikhail Doholis scored his first goal of the season, while sophomore Jackson Groves and freshman Michael Steele each recorded the first goal of their respective careers.
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.
TIME TO MAKE HISTORY?: With a win over California on Thursday, Oregon State would tally its first victory against the nation's No. 1-ranked team in school history. The Beavers are 0-2-1 all-time against teams that sit atop the national rankings. Oregon State recorded a 2-2 tie against No. 1 Indiana in 2005 at the OSU Diadora Classic in Corvallis. Prior to that game, the Beavers fell to No. 1 UCLA 5-0 in 2003 and to No. 1 Stanford 1-0 in overtime in 2002. The highest-ranked team the Beavers have ever defeated was No. 6 California in 2002, a game Oregon State won 3-0 in Corvallis.
BEAVERS IN THE PAC: Oregon State enters the week leading the Pac-12 in wins with a record of 7-2-0. No. 3/4 Washington currently sits at 6-0-2, while No. 1/1 California is 6-0-1. As a team, Oregon State leads the conference in shots (131), goals (19) and shutought (5). Individually, senior Borce Atanasov is tied for the leaue lead in assists with four, while Bersano sits atop the conference with 37 saves and four shutouts.
BEAVERS IN THE NCAA: Oregon State enters this week eighth in the nation in goals with 19, and 11th in the nation in points, with 54. The Beavers are also 14th in shutout percentage at 0.56. Individually, sophomore Matt Bersano is 12th in the nation is save percentage at 0.86, while senior Borce Atanasov is 24th in the nation with four assists.
