Brooks Hatch: OSU women’s soccer makes the NCAAs Comments
The Oregon State women’s soccer team will return to the NCAA Championships after a 15-year absence.
The Beavers (12-7-1), who last made the tournament in 1994, were selected to the 64-team field on Monday afternoon. They will play at host Ohio State (14-3-2), the other OSU (TOOSU) on Friday, at a time to be determined.
It was a wild scene at the Club at Reser Stadium, where both the men’s and women’s teams, and their respective coaching staffs, had gathered to watch the Selection Show on ESPN News. The Beavers’ name didn’t come up until the final two brackets and final eight teams were revealed, and when it did, the ensuing cheer nearly blew the roof off the place.
Players yelled, hooted, cried, high-fived and embraced in celebration.
Florida is the top seed for the four-team TOSU sub-regional and the Gators will play Illinois State in the other game.
The survivor in Columbus advances to the Sweet 16 to play the winner of the Notre Dame sub-regional, which features the host Irish against IUPUI and Central Michigan against Purdue.
Hey, we’re getting ahead of ourselves, of course, but wouldn’t an Oregon State-Notre Dame showdown in soccer be special? Maybe we could invite Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP Darnell Robinson back for the ceremonial pre-game pony-tail pull. Or maybe former ND quarterback Matt Lovechio could come back and throw a ball out of bounds.
Eight Pac-10 teams made the field (everyone except Arizona and Oregon). Here’s a link to the full 64-team bracket.
Here’s a preview (updated 11:45 p.m. we’re burning the midnight oil to bring you complete footie coverage!):
The tension rose as bracket after bracket of the 2009 NCAA women’s soccer tournament was revealed and their school’s name did not appear.
At Melissa Peck’s table, the Oregon State senior midfielder/forward and five teammates locked their arms and held hands in nervous anticipation.
“Oh man, I was nervous, I was about ready to leave,” Peck said, laughing.
Then, at 5:25 p.m., the words “Oregon State,” and the familiar angry Beaver logo, flashed on the lower right quadrant of the big screen television on the west wall.
A split-second later, the Beavers rose as one in a spontaneous, emotional release of energy that threatened to blow the roof off the place.
They were in, for the first time since 1994.
“I didn’t look,” at the screen, Peck said in recounting the moment OSU’s name appeared. “I just heard people cheering.
“My heart stopped. It’s probably one of the best days of my life, to be honest.”
Players yelled, screamed, hooted, cried, high-fived, fist-bumped, texted and embraced in joyfully celebrating OSU’s second-ever NCAA berth. The Beavers (12-7-1) will play 11th-ranked Ohio State (14-3-1) on Friday in Columbus in the first round of a 64-team showdown that includes an unprecedented eight Pacific-10 Conference schools.
“This is such a great opportunity,” said Peck, one of six seniors who had never played on a winning team, much less an NCAA qualifier, before this season. “We hadn’t made it in so long … it’s just awesome, it feels great.
“It was always in the back of my head, something I wished could come true, and it did. It’s just a great feeling.”
Added senior midfielder Rachael Axon: “I was just waiting to see what happened. They definitely kept us hanging until the last bracket.”
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OSU men’s sophomore goalie Steve Spangler was selected to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Monday.
Spangler had six total saves in a 1-1, double-overtime tie at No. 5 UCLA on Nov. 6 and a 2-1 win over No. 25 San Diego State on Nov. 8. Spangler blocked a penalty kick by UCLA’s Michael Stephens in the 81st minute to preserve the tie and earn OSU’s first-ever point in a road game against UCLA.
“We’re really proud of Steve and his accomplishments,” OSU goalie coach Adam Pearce said. “It is certainly a testament to not only him but all the goalkeepers in the men’s soccer program and reflective of the team effort on the weekend.
“He came up big in critical moments, in particular saving the penalty kick against UCLA to keep the game tied.”
Spangler has played 1,542 minutes and has 53 saves and a .716 save percentage this season.
OSU concludes the regular season on Saturday with a 5 p.m. game at Washington.
And we’re editoriualizing a bit here (hey, it’s a blog), but it won’t be long before the men’s program is hosting an NCAA watch party. They are 2-1-1 in their last four, all against top-50 RPI Pac-10 programs, and they lost just three seniors.
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