Beavers Set to Open NCAA Tournament Run on Sunday
THE GAME: The Oregon State men's soccer team will open the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, when the Beavers take on Virginia Tech in Greensboro, N.C.
FOLLOW ALONG: Sunday's game can be viewed via live stream, which can be found at OSUBeavers.com. Live stats for Sunday's match will also be available at OSUBeavers.com and every match this season can be followed on Twitter at @BeaverMSoccer.
2021 SEASON: The Pac-12 delayed the start of the soccer season to February due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Oregon State played 13 regular-season matches, including 10 conference games.
Quick Hitters:
- Oregon State checks in at No. 15 in this week's United Soccer Coaches rankings
- The Beavers are ranked No. 15 by Top Drawer Soccer and No. 20 by College Soccer News
- Oregon State had six Pac-12 wins this season, marking the third time it has reached six victories in conference play since it joined the Pac-10 in 2000.
- This marks the Beavers' fifth ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and its second in the last three seasons. Oregon State is 2-4 in NCAA Tournament matches.
- Oregon State has the third-best goal differential in the nation at +21.
- Gloire Amanda is the nation's leader in both goals and points with 15 and 37, respectively.
- OSU has the fifth-best scoring offense in the nation, clocking in with 2.54 goals per match.
- OSU has out-scored its opponents 33-12 on the season
- The Beavers are allowing just 0.92 goal per contest
- Oregon State conceded just five goals in eight home matches this season
- Joel Walker was tabbed as a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award
- Gloire Amanda, Mouhameth Thiam, Adrian Crespo, Joel Walker and Tsiki Ntsabeleng are all among the top-10 in the Pac-12 in assists this season.
- The Beavers were selected to finish third in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving two first-place votes
- Sofiane Djeffal was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Bext XI First Team. Djeffal, Joel Walker and Joe Hafferty were all among Top Drawer Soccer's 100 Players to Watch.
- Oregon State returned 16 of its 24 goals and 24 of its 31 assists from last season.
- Oregon State has 13 international players on the squad this season, compared to 14 domestic players.
- Terry Boss has the best winning percentage of any coach in Oregon State history.
Gloire-ous Season:
- Gloire Amanda has scored 15 goals in 13 games, giving him the highest goals per-game averaged in the nation.
- Is already among the top-10 in Oregon State history for: career goals, single-season goals, career game-winning goals, and single-season game-winning goals.
The Matchup:
- The Beavers and Hokies have never met.
- Oregon State last faced an ACC opponent in the 2018 season opener when it hosted Syracuse
Fortress Lorenz:
- Oregon State is 22-5-3 at home since the start of the 2018 season - Terry Boss' first season as head coach.
Stars, Stripes and Dotson:
- Oregon State alum Hassani Dotson was part of the United States' U-23 squad that competed in Olympic qualifying earlier this spring.
SuperDrafted:
- Joe Hafferty as selected with 37th overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. Hafferty was selected in the second round by Inter Miami, but was later traded to the Seattle Sounders.
- The Beavers have had 11 players taken in the MLS Draft all-time, headlined by No. 1 overall pick in 2010 Danny Mwanga and No. 2 overall pick in 2015 Khiry Shelton.