Linus Rhode Position: Head Coach Experience: Third Year Alma Mater: Portland, 1996

Linus Rhode, who begins his 11th year with the Oregon State women's soccer program, enters his third year as the head coach for the Beavers.

In his second season at Oregon State, Rhode led the Beavers to unprecedented success on the pitch as OSU advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship for the first time in school history. Under Rhode, Oregon State finished the 2009 season with a mark of 14-8-1 as the Beavers finished the season ranked No. 21 in the final NSCAA poll.

The 14 wins tied the mark for the most in school history as the Beavers finished tied for fifth in the powerful Pac-10 Conference play with a 4-5 mark. Along the way, Oregon State captured victories over Oregon as well as a win at USC. The victory against the Women of Troy marked the first time since 1994 the Beavers defeated their conference rival.

Defense was the key throughout Oregon State's magical season as the Beavers held opponents to a school record 0.90 goals against average and registered seven shutouts. In addition, the Beavers finished the year with a near-perfect 14-0-1 mark in games in which they scored a goal.

Three Oregon State players were named all-conference following the 2009 season, including Rachael Axon, who also earned all-region honors. In addition, 10 players were named to the Pac-10 Academic All-Conference squad.

In his first season at the helm of the program, a win over nationally-ranked Washington State highlighted the 2008 campaign as a young Oregon State team used strong defensive efforts to nearly pull off a number of upsets against ranked opponents.

Prior to taking over the program as head coach, Rhode served eight seasons as an assistant and associate head coach with the Beavers. During his time as an assistant and associate head coach, Rhode helped lead Oregon State to its best finish in the Pac-10 Conference (2003) since 1995, a top 20 national ranking (2005), wins over numerous top 10 programs and 32 shutouts including a school record of nine in 2004.

A number of student-athletes have received individual honors during his tenure at Oregon State as players have earned 18 all-conference and 73 academic all-conference honors under his guidance, including Jodie Taylor, who was a four-time all-conference and all-region selection. In addition, student-athletes have excelled academically as the team has consistently ranked among the best in the conference in GPA and has seen numerous players earn ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

Prior to joining the Oregon State staff, Rhode spent two years as head coach of the McKenzie United Soccer Academy in Eugene. He has also served five years as the Oregon Olympic Development Team head coach, in addition to being a Region IV staff coach for both the boy's and girl's ODP programs.

Rhode played professionally for the New Orleans River Boat Gamblers in the "A" League and for Wynberg St. John's in South Africa. He was a member of the Canadian Olympic Team from 1993-96, and was selected for the Canadian National U-20 Team.

Rhode, 35, graduated from the University of Portland with a bachelor's degree in organizational communications. He captained Portland to the NCAA Division I Final Four in 1995.

Originally from British Columbia, Rhode graduated from Centennial High in Coquitlam.

He and his wife, Magda, have two daughters.