Beavers Set to Open 2013 Campaign Friday
August 29, 2013 | Men's Soccer
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State men's soccer team will open it's 2013 season this week with a pair of nonconference matchups. The Beavers will open the weekend by taking on Cleveland State on Friday at 7 p.m., before facing off against UC Davis on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be played at Paul Lorenz Field.
FOLLOW ALONG: Live stats will be available online at osubeavers.com. You can also follow Oregon State Men's Soccer and head coach Steve Simmons on twitter at @OSUBeavers_MSOC and @CoachSimmo.
SERIES HISTORIES: Friday's contest will mark the Beavers' first ever matchup with the Vikings.
Oregon State is 2-2-2 all-time against UC Davis, but the Beavers have never lost to the Aggies at home, holding a 2-0-1 record in contests played in Corvallis. The teams last met in Davis in 2011, with the Aggies taking a 1-0 victory in double-overtime.
SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE: The Vikings are coming off a 2012 season in which they went 11-6-3. Cleveland State finished second in the Horizon League during the regular season, but earned an NCAA Tournament berth by winning the conference tournament. The Vikings were ultimately eliminated 2-1 by Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. Cleveland State returns its leading scorer, as Admir Suljevic comes back for his senior season after recording 21 points on eight goals and five assists last season. He will be joined by classmate Zach Ellis-Hayden, who finished his junior campaign with 10 points on four goals and two assists. One void the Vikings will have to fill will be the one left by goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who graduated at the end of last season. Stuver finished the 2012 campaign 29th in the nation and first in the Horizon League with a 0.818 save percentage. He also led the conference with nine shutouts in 20 games. The Vikings are coached by Ali Kazemaini, who has a record of 230-137-21 in his 19-year career, including a mark of 54-63-18 in his seven years with Cleveland State.
SCOUTING UC DAVIS: The Aggies are coming off a 10-7-4 record and a Big West Northern Division Championship in 2012. UC Davis returns nine starters and 11 of its 12 goal scorers from last season. The Aggies spread the scoring around in 2012, with no player scoring more than three goals. Alex Aguiar and Matt Sheldon led UC Davis last season with identical stat lines of eight points on three goals and two assists. Alex Henry matched Aguiar and Sheldon, tallying eight points on two goals and four assists. Senior goalkeeper Omar Zeeni enters his fourth season as the starter this year, after allowing less than a goal per game last season and recording six shutouts. UC Davis is coached by Dwayne Shaffer, who has a career record of 167-133-33, including a mark of 160-123-32 in 17 seasons with the Aggies.
OPENING DAY: Oregon State is 12-12-1 all-time on opening day, including a mark of 4-1-0 when opening the season at home. Friday's season opener marks just the sixth time ever that Oregon State has opened the season at home, but five of those home openers, however, have happened in the past eight seasons. For 15 consecutive years, from 1991 until 2005, the Beavers began their season at an away or neutral site.
OSU is 3-1-0 on opening day under head coach Steve Simmons. The most goals the Beavers have scored on opening day is five, accomplishing the feat twice in wins over Seattle (1991 - W, 5-0) and UC Irvine (1999 - W, 5-2). The Beavers opened last campaign with a 4-0 victory over Sacramento State.
THIS ONE'S FOR REAL: The Beavers played their lone preseason game of the year last Friday, when they defeated Northwest Nazarene 6-0 at Paul Lorenz Field. The game featured an additional 30 minute overtime period in order to allow more players to get minutes. Senior Daniel Van Vleet led the Beavers with two goals, while classmate Josh Smith tallied a goal and an assist and fellow senior Alex Eckerson added a pair of assists.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: The Beavers will play five games against opponents in the top-25 of either the NSCAA Preseason Rankings or the Soccer America Preseason Rankings. Oregon State will face UCLA, who is ranked ninth in the NSCAA Poll and 13th in the Soccer America Poll, twice, first in Corvallis on Oct. 18, and then again in Westwood, Calif. one week later on Oct. 25. The Beavers will also have home-and-home matches with Washington, which is No. 23 in the NSCAA Rankings, traveling to Seattle on Oct. 14, before hosting the Huskies in the final match of the regular season on Nov. 17. The Beavers will face Soccer America's No. 24 team, Michigan State, in Lansing Mich. on Sept. 6.
