Rhode Welcomes Aussie Ellis to the Team

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State head women's soccer coach, Linus Rhode announced Friday the signing of Liv Ellis, a freshman from Australia. Ellis is the fifth student-athlete that Rhode has signed to continue their career at Oregon State in 2017. She will be joining Kaillen Freid, Mylene Gorzynski, Shea O'Coonor and McKenzie Weinert in the Fall – all who signed letters of intent the beginning of February.

"Liv comes from Australia where she played at a high level," said head coach Rhode. "We look forward to having her. She is a natural defender and will give us more depth in our defensive group. We are excited to have her here in the spring, which allows her to integrate for a longer period of time with our team. Overall, I think she will be an excellent fit for the program."

The Australian school year runs different from the United States. Students finish school in December, which allowed Ellis to come to Oregon State and join the women's team for the spring season.

Ellis started her Premier League stint when she was 14 years old, making her debut in the 2013 WPL season. She played three-plus seasons with Bulleen and during that time, won the Women's State Knockout Cup and totaled 68 appearances.

In 2015, she spent a season away from the club and was a feature for both the NTC and the Boroondara Eagles, helping win a Minor Premiership and Team App Cup.

After her season away, she was selected for Melbourne City's inaugural season in the W-League, where she appeared twice in its title-winning season. She then returned to Bulleen the following year and made 19 appearances, including scoring a goal.

She was once again selected for the City's second W-League campaign and this time made an appearance in a 2-0 victory over Perth Glory.

"Playing with girls of such an amazing caliber really opens you up and makes you want to become better and seek the best path to becoming a better player," said Ellis. "Development wise it was really helpful."

Ellis is looking forward to testing herself at the collegiate level, where she will get the chance to shift out of her comfort zone and train in a more professional setting.

She is a graduate of Carey Baptist Grammar School in Kew, Victoria, Australia and is planning to major in environmental engineering.

The Beavers and Ellis will take to the pitch April 15th for a spring match against Portland State at Paul Lorenz Field starting at noon.

For more information on the Oregon State women's soccer team, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at @BeaverWSoccer or its Facebook page at BeaverWSoccer

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