Beavers Head to Ohio for Pair of Tests

Kicking Off: The Oregon State men's soccer team makes its first road trip of 2016 this week, as it heads to Akron for a pair of matchups against ranked opponents. The Beavers will open the weekend by facing No. 10 Akron at 4:30 p.m. PT on Friday, and will follow that up by taking on No. 19 Butler at 8 a.m. PT on Sunday.

Follow Along: Friday's game will be streamed live online, with a link available at OSUBeavers.com. Live stats for every game this season will be available on the men's soccer schedule page of OSUBeavers.com, and twitter updates are available at @BeaverMSoccer.

Just Outside the 25: Oregon State is receiving votes in this week's NSCAA Coaches' Poll for the first time this season. The Beavers are also receiving votes in the College Soccer News rankings, and are ranked No. 5 in the NSCAA's rankings of the Far West Region. Of note, none of these rankings relect Oregon State's win over Ohio State on Monday.

Series Histories: The Beavers have never faced Akron or Butler.

Shots, Shots, Shots: The Beavers have outshot their opponents 76-34 over the course of the first four matches of the season, including a 19-7 edge over Ohio State on Monday.

Strike Force: The Oregon State forward combination of Timmy Mueller and Jordan Jones has already combined to score a total of 40 goals in their two seasons with the Beavers. They are the highest scoring combination of Oregon State players since Robbie Findley and Ryan Johnson took the field with a combined 40 goals in 2005. Overall, Jones and Mueller's career numbers are remarkably similar. Mueller currently holds the edge with 45 points on 20 goals and five assists, while Jones sits just behind with 20 goals and four assists. Jones and Mueller are currently tied for the Pac-12 lead in points with seven apiece, and Mueller was named to the Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News national teams of the week this week for notching a hat trick against San Jose State last Friday.

Helping Feet: It's early in the season, but the Beavers have amassed a Pac-12 leading 15 assists already. Freshman David Norman Jr. sits second in the conference with four assists this year.

In Memory: Oregon State is playing this season in the memory of student-athlete John Chambers, who passed away on July 8. Chambers appeared in four matches for the Beavers during his freshman season (2015).

What's New: Six Oregon State players made their debuts for the Beavers last weekend (Norman Jr., Garcia, Miralles, Diaz, Strenov, Chimento), with Norman, Garcia, Miralles, Garcia and Strenov all earning a spot in the starting lineup for at least one of the games. Overall, newcomers accounted for two of the Beavers' 10 goals, and six of their 15 assists.

It Ain't Easy: Oregon State once again faces a challenging schedule. The Beavers took on 2015 Sweet 16 participant Ohio State on Sept. 5, and will follow that up by taking on national runner-up Akron on Sept. 9 in Ohio. OSU will return home for a matchup with west-coast power UC Irvine on Sept. 26, before it opens its always challenging Pac-12 slate, which features a pair of matches vs. defending national champion Stanford. Stanford and Akron entered the season ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, while Ohio State was ranked No. 18.

All Over The Map: The 2016 Oregon State roster features players from eight different states and three foreign countries. Here's the breakdown:
   - Oregon - 8 (Chimento, Garcia, Segovia, Arbogast, Ballenger, Striar, Vincent, Diaz)
   - California - 5 (Sarmiento, Jones, Brill, Sungvornrajasabh, Michael)
   - Texas - 3 (Dickey, Small, Waugaman)
   - Colorado - 3 (Tweeton, Braaten, Hurtado)
   - Canada - 3 (Wirth, Poulter, Norman Jr.)
   - Washington - 2 (Markey, Dotson)
   - Denmark - 1 (Strenov)
   - Idaho - 1 (Mueller)
   - Spain - 1 (Miralles)

Transfer Market: Oregon State has had success with transfers over the last few seasons, which could be an encouraging sign for newcomers Davis Chimento, Jaime Mirrales and Jesse Garcia. Last season, then-senior Phillip van Berkom (Longwood) started all 15 matches he played, while classmate Jaime Velasco (Portland) made 11 starts after joining the Beavers as a transfer. Already in 2016, Miralles has tallied two assists, while Garcia has notched one goal and two assists.

Do Some Networking: Oregon State will appear on Pac-12 Networks 10 times this season, up from last year's total of nine. The Beavers' TV debut came on Sept. 5, when they took on Ohio State at Paul Lorenz Field. OSU's Sept. 22 matchup with UC Irvine will air on Pac-12 Networks as well, and the Beavers will have eight of their 10 Pac-12 matches televised.

Beavers in the Pros: Oregon State has produced a number of outstanding professional players in recent seasons. Danny Mwanga was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 MLS Draft, before Khiry Shelton was selected second overall in 2016. Here is a list of current Beavers in the pros:
   - Khiry Shelton - New York City FC
   - Alan Gordon - LA Galaxy
   - Emery Welshman - Real Salt Lake
   - Robbie Findley - Rayo OKC (NASL)
   - Danny Mwanga - Ottawa Fury (NASL)
   - Will Seymore - Whitecaps FC 2 (USL Pro)
   - Matt Bersano - Seattle Sounders FC 2 (USL)
   - Tyler Back - Rovaniemen Palloseura (Finnish Veikkausliiga)
   - Mikhail Doholis - Kitsap Pumas (PDL)

Simmons Continues Tradition: Oregon State head coach Steve Simmons enters his eighth season with the Beavers this year as just the third head coach of OSU since the program was founded in 1988. Simmons led the Beavers to their first NCAA Tournament victory in 2014, and has produced three MLS SuperDraft picks during his time as OSU's top man. Prior to Simmons, Jimmy Conway was OSU head coach from 1988-1998 (11 seasons) and Dana Taylor was the team's skipper from 1999-2008 (10 seasons). Simmons served as Taylor's associate head coach in 2002, the team's first ever NCAA Tournament campaign.

Stoddard Steps Up: Oregon State assistant Ben Stoddard earned a promotion this offseason, as he was named Associate Head Coach by head coach Steve Simmons. Stoddard is in his third season with the Beavers, after spending two seasons as a graduate assistant at Indiana Wesleyan. This summer, Stoddard was selected to be part of the NSCAA's 30 Under 30 Program, which is designed for a special group of young coaches who want to lead the way in developing soccer players and enhancing the game.

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Players Mentioned

John Chambers

Davis Chimento

Jesse Garcia

Jordan Jones

Timmy Mueller