The Barometer Online

Issue date: 10/5/06 Section: Sports

Jodie Taylor, the Pac-10 player of the week, saved OSU last Sunday against Portland State and will have to step up if she's needed in this weekend's games against Arizona State and Arizona.

The Pacific-10 Conference season begins Friday for the Oregon State women's soccer team. The Beavers travel to the Valley of the Sun as they first meet Arizona State University on Friday and then travel further south to meet the University of Arizona on Sunday.

The Beavers (7-2-2) finished the preseason schedule by narrowly beating Portland State University this past weekend 2-1. Coming into the game, the Vikings had only scored one goal but found ways to stay in the game by working an offside trap and capitalizing on the Beavers' sloppy play.

"I think that was more of a one-off and they weren't really playing an offside trap," OSU coach Steve Fennah said. "I just think we weren't that sharp."

The Sun Devils (4-3-2) hold a 7-2 record all-time against the Beavers, but OSU has won the last two meetings. Both games were decided by one goal and went into overtime, with Jodie Taylor scoring both game-winners. The Sun Devils have lost two out of their last three games, but have caused nightmares for opponents by scoring eight out of their eleven goals in the second half. Sometimes a simple halftime adjustment can make the difference between a win and a loss though and the Beavers know this well. After a rough first half, OSU came out strong and inspired in the second half against PSU.

"The coaches talked of how the passion wasn't really there," Taylor, the Pac-10 Player of the Week, said. "They also talked about stepping it up and really wanting to win."

"We got after them a little bit at halftime and they realized as much as anything that they needed to sharpen up because they are the ones in the field," Fennah added. "That's what they did and they played with a little more intensity and it worked well."

On Sunday, the Beavers meet the Arizona Wildcats (7-4) at Murphey Stadium in Tucson. The Wildcats are coming off a 2-1 win over Cal State-Fullerton and have won three out of their last four games. Of their four losses, three have been to ranked teams.

"Both are good teams," Fennah said of ASU and Arizona. "There is not a team in the Pac-10 below .500 except for Washington and they have played a very difficult schedule. Every Pac-10 game is going to be difficult, which is the same in all sports."

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