LARAMIE, Wyo. – Oregon State women’s soccer is set to conclude its 2024 nonconference schedule on Thursday, hitting the road to face Mountain West side Wyoming on Thursday.Oregon State Beavers at Wyoming Cowgirls
Date: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024Time: 3 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. MTLocation: Madrid Sports Complex – Laramie, Wyo.Watch: Mountain West NetworkLive Stats: Stat Broadcast
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS:
Wyoming enters Thursday’s tilt with momentum, using a dominant second half to defeat the South Dakota Coyotes 4-0. In just the second 45 alone, Wyoming out-shot USD 18-5 and scored three goals.
With a 2-2-2 record this season, Alyssa Bedard is leading the attack with a team-high seven points thanks to three goals and one assist. In net, Haley Bartel has maintained a save percentage of 71.8 while making 28 saves across six appearances, all starts.
HISTORY:
Three members of the OSU coaching staff played against Wyoming during their careers. Leah Pruitt finished with five shots on goal and an assist during a 2-1 win as a freshman at San Diego State, while Livv Seddon made four appearances (three starts) against the Cowgirls at Northern Colorado, totaling 170 minutes played; Zandy Soree was part of a UCF team that hosted Wyoming for a preseason exhibition.
DOUBLE TROUBLE:
Though OSU has created chances to score this year, converting those into goals has proven difficult at times. Entering the game with three goals in six games, the Beavers made a statement during the first half against South Dakota State, scoring a pair of goals in the 24th and 35th minutes to build an early 2-0 lead.
Though SDSU scored off a long-range effort late in the first half, the Beavers led, 2-1 at halftime.
SHE’S A FRESHMAN:
Against South Dakota State on Sunday, Hayden Wilson redirected a corner kick into the back of the net, earning a spot on the scoresheet for the first time in her collegiate career and putting the Beavers ahead 1-0.
Originally from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Wilson has appeared in all seven games this season, making six starts on the OSU backline. After a bench appearance at Montana saw the 5-9 freshman play five minutes, she has since played 90 in all but one game, when she played 86.
ASSIST:
Claire Jones has been a prominent figure in the Beaver midfield this season, starting all seven games and playing the full 90 six times. Against the Jackrabbits on Sunday, Jones found her name on the scoresheet for the first time as a collegiate soccer player, taking the corner kick that Wilson redirected in for the opening goal.
Originally from Ridgefield, Wash., Jones enters this week’s game at Wyoming with 13 starts across 19 career games played, averaging 65 minutes per appearance.
QUALITY VETS:
After a true freshman opened the scoring against SDSU, a pair of veterans stepped up in a big way to double the lead.
Entering Sunday’s match with a combined 114 appearances, 62 starts and nearly 6,000 minutes of game time, Katie Godden played a ball through the Jackrabbit backline for Valerie Tobias, who poked it past the rushing goalkeeper with the outside of her foot to put the Beavers up 2-0. The goal and assist marked the first points in 2024 for either player, also signifying the first multi-goal lead the team has held this season.
SO CLOSE:
With just nine minutes on the clock against SDSU, Oregon State came close to finding the leveler off the boot of McKenna Martinez. After a feed from Carly Carraher, Martinez spun over her left shoulder to fake out two Jackrabbit defenders, but her shot from near the penalty spot was saved and sent out for a corner kick.
Through seven games this season, Martinez leads the team in shots (23) and shots on goal (nine).
GELLING:
Interim Head Coach Caroline Kelly has shown a willingness to move things around within the starting eleven. Though just 14 players have made a start this season, she has run out five different combinations to start a game, only using the same lineup in back-to-back games twice.
With 13 or more shots in four games this season, the 11 who started against SDSU helped fuel the Beaver offense to a season-high eight shots on goal, with the starters combining for 10 shots and seven on target; all six points (two goals and two assists) came from the starers.
NON-CONFERENCE:
Thursday’s game at Wyoming signifies the end of the non-conference slate, as the Beavers are set to host West Coast Conference opponents the rest of the way. With five games at home and five on the road, the WCC opener is slated for Sept. 28 in Corvallis, when OSU hosts Gonzaga at 12 p.m. at Paul Lorenz Field.OUR MISSIONOregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
