After struggling to find victories all season, the Oregon State women are now on a winning streak, taking down Colorado State 1-0 on Sunday afternoon for their second win in a row. The win puts the Beavers record at 3-10-4 overall, and 2-2-2 in Pac-12 play.
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The Beavers started the game with a few early shots off, courtesy of Ava Burdeyny and Amber Ogbolu. While the Colorado State defense managed to keep the Beavers out of the net, Oregon State continued to dominate time of possession, and late in the first half they found their way onto the scoreboard.
In the 41st minute a handball set up the Beavers with a free kick near midfield. Ava Burdeyny launched the ball deep, finding Lea Gentry perfectly placed in front of the Colorado State goal for a header that just slipped inside the right post.
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That would be the only goal of the night, but it didn't keep the second half from being stressful. After being outshot eight to three in the first half, the Rams flipped the script in the second, outshooting the Beavers by the same amount.
Four of those shots were on goal, putting a lot of pressure on Ally Larkin to preserve the Beaver lead. The Rams kept the ball near the Oregon State goal for most of the final twenty minutes of the night. In the 88th minute Larkin was perfectly placed to grab a shot fired right at the center of the box, and that would be the last, best chance the Rams got. Larkin finished the night with seven total saves.
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The win puts the Beavers in an interesting spot in the Pac-12 standings. After the team's struggles early in the season and their inability to pick up wins when the conference schedule started, hope for postseason play seemed far fetched. But the Beavers sit at 2-2-2, and a berth in the conference tournament could be in play.
Oregon State's eight points put them in fifth place in the standings, one point behind fourth place Gonzaga. The top four seeds will make the conference tournament, so the Beavers have some work to do and likely need some help, but it's not inconceivable.
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The wrinkle here is that Oregon State's next game is against Utah State, who are currently tied at the top of the Pac-12 standings with Boise State. The Aggies aren't going to take a game off against the Beavers with top seeding in the tournament along the line.
After that though, the Beavers close the season out against Gonzaga. And that's the game that really matters. If the Beavers can fight to a draw against the Aggies and follow it up with a win over the Bulldogs, that could put them in the postseason. They'd need the Bulldogs to lose or tie their game this week against San Diego State, but that's within the realm of possibility.
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It's slim odds, but the idea that the Oregon State women would be playing games that matter in the final week of the season seemed impossible only weeks ago. It's time to dream big. Oregon State will host Utah State on Friday, October 30th, with kick off set for 6 PM PT.
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