Sept. 1, 2012

#21/23 Oregon State vs. UC Irvine Paul Lorenz Field - Corvallis, Ore.  Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012  (12 p.m.)   Women's Soccer

Freshman goalie Sammy Jo Prudhomme's 13 saves against Cal State Fullerton enabled the abeavers to enter Sunday's contest with the Anteaters from UC Irvine with a perfect 4-0-0 record.

Match Preview  Records .Pct   Streak  UC Irvine  (1-4-0)  .200  L1  #21/23 Oregon State  (4-0-0)  .1000  W4  Last Time Out... OSU 2 Pac-12 CSF 1 Big West Conference ----- ---- ------------------------ UC Irvine 0 Big West Conference Oregon 1 Pac-12 UC_Irvine_Match_Notes  / LIVE STATS  Tweet

CORVALLIS, Ore. – It’s been more than two weeks since the Oregon State women’s soccer team last took the field at Patrick Wayne Valley Stadium. During that stretch of time, the Beavers have amassed three victories, the last two in come from behind fashion.

Linus Rhode’s crew currently boasts a 4-0 record and returns to the place where they earned their first win of the season as they play host to 1-4 UC Irvine, Sunday on Paul Lorenz Field. The Beavers enter the contest having fallen behind 1-0 in their last two matches, only to reel off a pair of unanswered goals to keep their winning streak in-tact.

“I think it’s going to be good to be able to play at home,” Coach Rhode said. “We’ve been on the road for our last three games, so I’m sure the players are excited to play on Lorenz field and be in front of our home fans again.”

The ‘Beavs most recent comeback took place on Thursday night as they defeated Cal State Fullerton 2-1 on the road behind 13 saves from freshman goalie Sammy Jo Prudhomme, who was making her collegiate debut.  It was the first time an OSU goalie had reached double-digit saves in a game since Colleen Boyd had her 11 back on Nov. 7, 2010 vs. California.

Kick-off for the OSU vs. UC Irvine match is scheduled for 12 p.m. and live stats are available on CBS Gametracker.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Anteaters enter the match with a 1-4-0 record, having just lost to Oregon 1-0, Friday night. UC Irvine claims a victory over then #21 ranked Auburn 1-0. Irvine has dropped contests with BYU (3-2), Texas A&M (2-1) and Loyola Marymount (2-0) so far this season.

UC Irvine is a relatively young squad with 17 of their 29 roster members listed as underclassmen. The Anteaters are led in goal by sophomore Jennifer Randazzo.

NATIONALLY RANKED
For the first time in 2012 Oregon State has cracked the NSCAA’s Top-25 list as the Beavers were selected 23rd in the nation in the week two poll. OSU had received 29 votes after the first week of play but is able to secure a spot as one of the 25-best teams in the nation, just a week later. The Beavers are also listed as the No. 23 school in the country in the SoccerTimes poll and as high as 21by SoccerAmerica.

Oregon State is no stranger to the NSCAA national rankings as it started the 2011 season at #19 and rose to as high as 17th at one point last year. Just ahead of OSU at #22 is Florida (1-1-1) and Tennessee (4-0-0), who is #21. The Portland Pilots, who the ‘Beavs bested at Merlo Field last week are 20th, with a record of 2-1-0.

CLIMBING UP THE LADDER 
Entering Friday’s match Linus Rhode has 53 victories as head coach of the OSU women’s soccer program. His current win total puts him just one behind Tom Rowney who coached the Beavers from 1992-97 and took them to their first NCAA Tournament appearance. With two more wins, Rhode will own sole possession of second place on the all-time program wins list, 25 behind leader Steve Fennah (1998-2007).

ROCK SOLID
Freshman goalie Sammy Jo Prudhomme made her collegiate debut in goal for the Beavers and had an impressive performance, The Aliso Viejo, Calif. native stopped 13-shots from going into the net, while only allowing one goal the entire 90-minutes. Prudhomme was the first Beaver goalie to make double-digit saves in a match since Colleen Boyd stopped 11 against California on Nov. 7, 2010.

IN RARE COMPANY
With their win over the PSU Vikings, Oregon State has now started a season 4-0 for the second time in three seasons and for the fourth time in program history. In 2010, OSU went 5-0 to begin the year. The Beavers also started the 2004 and 1995 campaigns with five straight wins.

RICHARDSON PLAYING IN JAPAN
OSU junior forward Jenna Richardson has wrapped up competition at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup taking place in Japan. The Surrey, B.C. native started all-three matches for Team Canada, scoring one goal in the team’s second contest vs. Norway. 

Richardson will trade in her #11 red and white jersey for her customary #3 Orange and Black sweater. She is expected back on the pitch at Paul Lorenz Field sometime in early September.

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