Beavers Ready to Open Pac-12 Play vs. Washington

THE GAME: The Oregon State men's soccer team opens up Pac-12 play on Saturday, as the Beavers play host to Washington at Lorenz Field. The game is slated to start at 6 p.m.

FOLLOW ALONG: Live stats will be available at OSUBeavers.com. You can follow every Oregon State men's soccer game live on Twitter, @BeaverMSoccer.

DAM WORTH IT: Saturday's game is OSU men's soccer's designated Dam Worth It game. Dam Worth It is a campaign started by current OSU men's soccer player Nathan Braaten and former gymnast Taylor Ricci with the goal to destigmatize and raise awareness about student-athlete mental health issues. Read more about Dam Worth It here. Dam Worth It t-shirts will be handed out to the first 100 students in attendance for Saturday's game.

TICKETS: Oregon State is selling tickets for men's and women's soccer this season. Season tickets are available for $50 for adults and $30 for youth/seniors. Single game tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children/seniors. As a ticketed event, Oregon State soccer is now subject to the athletic department's Clear Bag Policy.

Quick Hitters:
- The Beavers are receiving votes in this week's College Soccer News rankings.
- Senior Nathan Braaten was named one of 30 candidates for the men's soccer Senior CLASS Award on Sept. 19. Braaten has proven to be a standout in the classroom throughout his career, earning - Academic All-America Second Team recognition last season. The finance major has also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors twice in his career, as well as a pair of Pac-12 All-Academic First Team nods.
- Oregon State is 19th in the nation in shots per game with 15.0.
- Friday's game vs. Portland marked the first time this season the Beavers have been out-shot by an opponent.
- The Beavers are 21st in the nation in corner kicks per game, taking an average of 6.4 per contest.
- The Beavers' 2018 squad features 14 international players, by far the highest total in the Pac-12. UCLA sits second with seven international players, followed by San Diego State with four.
- Oregon State won the Northwest Cup during its spring exhibition season, earning wins over Portland and Gonzaga at Portland's Merlo Field.

Dandy Don:
- Senior Don Tchilao is tied for second in the Pac-12 in points with nine and fifth in the conference in goals with three.
- Tchilao is tied for the NCAA lead in penalty kicks taken and converted.
- The senior is second in the Pac-12 in both points and goals with 11 and four, respectively.
- The forward has converted three of the five penalty kicks taken by Pac-12 teams this year.
- Tchilao earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on Sept. 4.
- Tchilao was named to the All-Pac-12 Preseason Team
- Tchilao also made the All-Pac-12 Second Team last season
- Tchilao leads all Oregon State players with 12 career goals, including four already this season. Overall, the forward has played in 57 career matches.

Bench Boss:
- 2018 marks the first season for head coach Terry Boss, who joins the Beavers after spending the prior four seasons as an assistant coach/associate head coach at Virginia.
- Boss is a native of Philomath, Ore., a town of 4,584 people located approximately five miles west of Lorenz Field.
- Boss played professionally as a goalkeeper for seven seasons, including four seasons in Major League Soccer with the New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders FC.
- The goalkeeper also saw time with the Puerto Rican national team, earning seven caps.
- Terry's brother Kevin Boss spent six seasons as a tight end in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants in the 2007 season.

In the Pac:
- Oregon State leads all Pac-12 teams in shots taken this season with 120, 11 ahead of second-place Washington.
- Three Beavers sit in the top six in the conference in shots taken, with Gloire Amanda leading the Pac-12 with 31. Don Tchilao is fourth with 23, while Eric Diaz is sixth with 21.

New Faces:
- Oregon State's 2018 roster features 21 newcomers, including 15 freshmen.
- Thirteen of the Beavers' newcomers hail from outside of the United States, with that group representing six different countries: Canada, England, Spain, Nigeria, France and Germany.

The Staff:
- Oregon State's coaching staff features three coaches who have won an NCAA national title. Boss was an assistant coach on Virginia's 2014 championship team. OSU assistant coach Ryan Zinkhan was a forward on that 2014 Virginia squad, while Beaver associate head coach BJ Craig won the 2013 title as part of Notre Dame's coaching staff.
- Craig spent 10 years on the Notre Dame coaching staff, putting together a record of 122-55-35 during that time.
- Zinkhan played in 78 career games for Virginia, including a pair of runs to the Final Four of the College Cup.
- Clint Long was a goalkeeper at Oregon State, before transfering to CSU Stanislaus, where he earned several conference and national awards.

Dam Worth It
- Nathan Braaten was intrumental in starting the Dam Worth It program at Oregon State. The program, which was spearheaded by Braaten along with former OSU gymnast Taylor Ricci, was designed for student-athletes in order to decrease the stigma surrounding mental health through education and awareness.
- Dam Worth It won the Giant Steps Award for Civic Leaders. The Giant Steps Awards are given out annually by the Institute for Sport and Social Justice.
- Braaten and Ricci also received Oregon State's Waldo-Cummings Award, which is the most prestigious honor bestowed by the University's Faculty Senate Student Recognition and Awards Committee.

The Schedule:
- Saturday's game will mark the end of a season-opening stretch of seven home matches in Oregon State's first nine games.
- The Beavers' eight nonconference opponents represent seven different conferences (ACC, Big West, Big East, Big 10, WAC, Patriot League, WCC).

Vs. Washington:
- Oregon State is 14-32-3 all-time against Washington, and 8-13-3 in Corvallis.
- The two teams split last year's season series, with each side winning on its home field.
- Oregon State overcame a two-goal halftime deficit to top Washington 4-3 in last year's season finale.
- Don Tchilao is the only current Beaver player to find the net vs. the Huskies in his career, having scored two goals in the series, including one in Seattle last season.

In the Pros:
Below is a list of former Beavers currently playing professionally:
   - Alan Gordon - Chicago Fire (MLS)
   - Khiry Shelton - Sporting KC (MLS)
   - Matt Bersano - San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
   - David Norman Jr. - Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS)
   - Will Seymore - FC Cincinnati (USL)
   - Jordan Jones - Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (USL)
   - Emery Welshman - FC Cincinnati (USL)

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Players Mentioned

Gloire Amanda

Nathan Braaten

Eric Diaz

Jordan Jones

Don Tchilao