Sept. 8, 2011

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Game Notes

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State women’s soccer team is traveling to Portland, Ore. this weekend to participate in the 2011 Nike Portland Invitational. The No. 21 Beavers will take on the New Mexico Lobos Friday Sept. 9 at 4:30 p.m. and then will face off against the No. 24 Portland Pilots on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Oregon State is 2-0-0 in the series against New Mexico with the last meeting coming in 2002. The Pilots are leading the all-time series against the Beavers 1-22-0 with the last meeting coming in 2009. Portland has always been a soccer powerhouse, but has gotten off to a rocky start during the 2011 season.

The Beavers are coming off the Oregon Nike Tournament where they played another ranked opponent in Santa Clara and came away with a 1-1 tie after going into two overtimes. They then took on the New Hampshire Wildcats and won in a dominating fashion 4-0.

“The game against Santa Clara was another game where we are learning more and more about how we are going to play as a team this year,” head coach Linus Rhode said. “New Hampshire was a solid team, but it was nice to put the ball in the back of the net. We had been creating a lot of good opportunities and it was nice to see those pay off.”

Seven different Beavers have scored this year so far, which has created a balanced attack, but Haley Shaw has notched two goals and a game-winner under her belt and has made a spot for herself in the regular rotation.

“Haley Shaw is doing great this year,” Rhode said. “She is obviously leading the team in points right now, but more importantly she is a team player and she has embraced her role as a target forward.”

The team started preparing for the Portland Nike Tournament this week and realizes how strong the competition will be this weekend in Portland.

New Mexico is not currently ranked in the top-25 polls in the country, but is a strong opponent. They will be coming into this game off a pair of wins against UCSB and California State at Northridge. The Lobos also played a familiar foe in Florida State losing 1-0.

The Pilots are coming off a shaky start to their season going 2-3-0 in their first set of games. Portland is coming off a season where they went 19-1-2 and competed in the NCAA tournament for the 11^th straight year. They are one of three schools to have won multiple NCAA championships.

“Against New Mexico we have to be prepared for tough game,” Rhode said. “Sunday, Portland is a great team. One thing that we aren’t looking at is their results from this year. They are going to be at home and they are going to be strong. We have to be prepared for two very tough games this weekend.”

Fans can view live stats for the game Friday against New Mexico here. There will also be a live video available for the game on Sunday against Portland here.

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