Women's club soccer falls in opening game match
Injuries early in game, new goalie hurt team's chances against Oregon in Eugene
The Daily Barometer
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: Sports
Coming out of a long winter break and spring thaw, the Oregon State Women's Soccer Club dropped their opening game of the spring season against Oregon in Eugene, 2-0, on Saturday.
"We played pretty well for the most part," said second-year coach Jake Norquist, who is a senior majoring in business.
The team, who haven't played a game since last November, were hampered by a pair of injuries within the first ten minutes of play with starters Julie Isaacson and Nikki Sherell getting hurt. Isaacson was the first to go down with an injury to her MCL, followed shortly afterward by Sherell with a broken bone in her right foot.
Field conditions didn't help the Beavers cause, as heavy rains soaked the field of old-style turf, which OSU has little experience playing on.
"We're not used to this turf," explained Norquist. "So our touch is a little off."
Club President Brenna Culbertson, a junior in exercise sports science, agreed. "The field was not ideal," Culbertson said.
After things settled down, the Ducks dominated the time of possession and pressed the Beavers for most of the game. The end result was OSU making only momentary penetrations against the stingy Oregon defense.
Freshman goalie Bethany Ulman, a double major in both education and history, had her hands full in her first game for the Beavers, coming up with 12 saves against a withering barrage of Duck shots.
Ulman, however, who was recruited over the winter, worked hard to keep her composure.
"I think the biggest thing, as soon as you get scored on, is to not get down on yourself and that's hard," Ulman said. "Especially when it's just you back there, kind of in your own world. You just need to stay confident in your own skills."
Norquist was happy to get the first game of the season out of the way.
"We wanted to get people used to being in game situations since we have a tournament next weekend," Norquist said. "We want to get back into the flow of things."
Culbertson agreed and hopes the eight-team tournament at UCLA will offer further opportunities for improvement.
"We're just trying to get a feel for playing, especially with the whole field because a lot of our practices have only been half-field," Culbertson said.
"This game was good preparation for us to see how we're going to play, use the field, and using each other, especially for the girls that haven't been here the entire time. Also, getting everybody back into the groove of things as a team."
Ulman was equally hopeful. "It's a place to start and it's a place to go from," Ulman said. "I think as we get more comfortable with each other things will start to improve."
Fans will get a chance to see that improvement when the Beavers host their first home game of the season Sunday, May 6th. Set for Mom's Weekend, OSU will square off against the Portland State Vikings at 11 a.m. at Peavy West Field.
"We played pretty well for the most part," said second-year coach Jake Norquist, who is a senior majoring in business.
The team, who haven't played a game since last November, were hampered by a pair of injuries within the first ten minutes of play with starters Julie Isaacson and Nikki Sherell getting hurt. Isaacson was the first to go down with an injury to her MCL, followed shortly afterward by Sherell with a broken bone in her right foot.
Field conditions didn't help the Beavers cause, as heavy rains soaked the field of old-style turf, which OSU has little experience playing on.
"We're not used to this turf," explained Norquist. "So our touch is a little off."
Club President Brenna Culbertson, a junior in exercise sports science, agreed. "The field was not ideal," Culbertson said.
After things settled down, the Ducks dominated the time of possession and pressed the Beavers for most of the game. The end result was OSU making only momentary penetrations against the stingy Oregon defense.
Freshman goalie Bethany Ulman, a double major in both education and history, had her hands full in her first game for the Beavers, coming up with 12 saves against a withering barrage of Duck shots.
Ulman, however, who was recruited over the winter, worked hard to keep her composure.
"I think the biggest thing, as soon as you get scored on, is to not get down on yourself and that's hard," Ulman said. "Especially when it's just you back there, kind of in your own world. You just need to stay confident in your own skills."
Norquist was happy to get the first game of the season out of the way.
"We wanted to get people used to being in game situations since we have a tournament next weekend," Norquist said. "We want to get back into the flow of things."
Culbertson agreed and hopes the eight-team tournament at UCLA will offer further opportunities for improvement.
"We're just trying to get a feel for playing, especially with the whole field because a lot of our practices have only been half-field," Culbertson said.
"This game was good preparation for us to see how we're going to play, use the field, and using each other, especially for the girls that haven't been here the entire time. Also, getting everybody back into the groove of things as a team."
Ulman was equally hopeful. "It's a place to start and it's a place to go from," Ulman said. "I think as we get more comfortable with each other things will start to improve."
Fans will get a chance to see that improvement when the Beavers host their first home game of the season Sunday, May 6th. Set for Mom's Weekend, OSU will square off against the Portland State Vikings at 11 a.m. at Peavy West Field.
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