Oregon State women fall to Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 13 Oregon State women’s soccer team fell to top-ranked Stanford 2-0 Friday night in a match that was seen live on Fox Soccer Channel and FSN Northwest. It is only the second loss of the season for the Beavers who are now 15-2-1 overall on the season and 7-1 in Pacific-10 Conference play. Christen Press was the difference for the Cardinal (17-0-2 overall, 8-0-0 Pac-10) as she netted two goals for her 22nd and 23rd goals of the season which leads the nation. She recorded the first goal of the match in the third minute when she took a volley from the right sideline and put it past the diving Oregon State keeper Colleen Boyd for the early 1-0 lead. The Beavers had a chance a few minutes later when freshman Jenna Richardson got a cross in front of the Stanford net but hit it straight at the Cardinal keeper Emily Oliver. The scored remained 1-0 going into halftime. Oregon State came out pressing in the second half and dominated early but was unable to find the back of the net. Richardson and fellow forward Chelsea Buckland each had four shots in the match with two of Richardson’s coming on goal. One of the best chances for the Beavers came off of the right foot of senior Courtney Wetzel. The Beavers were fouled outside of the Stanford 18-yard box. Wetzel set up a free kick on the left side of the field and drove it through the Cardinal wall of defenders which caught the Cardinal keeper off guard but she was able to recover for the diving save. The save created a corner kick for the Beavers who ended up with four in the match, all coming in the second half. Stanford added a second and final goal in the 70th minute when Press punched it forward from the top of the box just inside the right post to give the Cardinal the 2-0 lead. Both teams recorded 13 shots in the match with each having five shots on goal. Oregon State had several chances in the second half but unfortunately could not capitalize. With the win Friday night, Stanford virtually wraps up the Pac-10 championship. They finish their season Sunday against Oregon. The Beavers conclude their 2010 regular season campaign when they take on the California Golden Bears Sunday in Berkeley, Calif. with kickoff scheduled for 12 p.m. California defeated Oregon 2-0 Friday night.