Oregon State
Northern Illinois
Beavers take down Northern Illinois in tough battle, 2-1
September 10, 2010 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 10, 2010
DeKalb, Ill. - The Oregon State men's soccer team won a tight and physical match against the Huskies of Northern Illinois 2-1 Friday night in DeKalb, Ill. The Beavers had to come from behind in the second half but two goals within three minutes sealed the victory for the Beavers who are now 3-0 on the season.
"We were a little flat in the first half and found ourselves in a quick hole," Oregon State men's soccer head coach Steve Simmons said following the match. "I challenged them at half time and they responded. It was a very resilient and tough victory for our young club."
Oregon State (3-0 overall) fell behind early after a Northern Illinois goal in the 15th minute of play. Jonny Tyma took a cross and hit it over the right shoulder of Oregon State keeper Steve Spangler to give the Huskies the early 1-0 lead.
It was still 1-0 going into the second half and remained that way until sophomore transfer Roberto Farfan took an unassisted strike from the right side about 14 yards out and drove it past the NIU keeper Jordan Godsey to even the game at one goal apiece with 23:57 left in the match.
Exactly three minutes later, Farfan was again in on a score, this time for an assist, when he crossed it to senior Brian Ramsey who headed the ball into the top right corner of the net giving the Beavers the lead for the first time in the match.
Oregon State had the lead 2-1 lead with 20:57 left in the match but it was no easy coast to the end. NIU increased the intensity on the field and on its attack and took it right at the Beavers. The Huskies had five shots following Ramsey's go-ahead goal and all were all saved by Spangler.
"Northern Illinois threw everything but the kitchen sink at us after we took the lead," Simmons said. "Steve Spangler had some fantastic saves late and did a good job keeping us in the game."
Spangler ended the match with nine saves which was nearly double his total from the previous two games combined. He now has 14 saves on the season. His nine saves against the Huskies is a single-game high for Spangler.
The match also held special significance for Simmons who was making his first return trip to NIU after leaving there two years ago to come to Oregon State. The all-time series record between the two schools is now 1-1.
"I'm very proud of how this young group has handled the road trip but we'll have a great test with Northwestern on Sunday," Simmons said. "So far so good for us on this trip, bring the team together was a priority of this trip and I feel like we've accomplished that."
The Beavers next hit the pitch Sunday, Sept. 12 when they stay in DeKalb to take on Northwester with a start time of 9 a.m. PDT.
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