CORVALLIS – The Beaver back-line held firm Thursday evening, as the Oregon State women’s soccer team earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw with No. 25 Washington at Paul Lorenz Field.

“We had to do a lot of fighting tonight,” said Oregon State head coach Linus Rhode. “I’m very proud of the team for their effort and work-rate. I felt like we handled their pressure very well, and on the ball we did some very good things. We showed good confidence on the ball, which is something we talked about, and it showed tonight.”

The match marked Oregon State’s first contest in Corvallis since Sept. 11. It was also the Beavers’ Dam Cancer game, as OSU continues its partnership with the Corvallis Clinic to help raise cancer awareness.

Senior goalkeeper Bella Geist tallied nine saves in the match, bringing her career total to 360. The clean sheet was her fifth of the season.

Senior Emma Jones led the Beavers with three shots.

The Beavers very nearly found a breakthrough within the first five minutes, as Kayla Latham’s effort from eight yards out drifted just wide of the post.

Geist came up with a big save in the 27^th minute, moving quickly to her left to make the reaction stop. Jones would take aim at goal just minutes later, but her effort was blocked. Geist came up with another big save late in the half, as the teams went to the break scoreless.

Natalie Higgins nearly got the opener early in the second frame, firing a shot from distance that deflected off a defender and almost fooled the goalkeeper.

Oregon State came close to finding the net off a corner from Jones, as the cross hit a couple Beaver heads before floating wide. Jones took a shot of her own in the dying minutes of regulation, but the attempt was blocked and the teams headed to overtime.

Geist came up with another huge save late in the first overtime period to keep the game alive. Both teams would create chances in the second overtime, but neither side was able to take the win.

The Beavers will be back at Lorenz Field on Sunday, when they host Washington State.

For updates on Oregon State women’s soccer, follow the team on Twitter or Instagram @BeaverWSoccer.

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