Oregon State
Gonzaga
Men's Soccer Blanks Gonzaga, 3-0
September 15, 2012 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 15, 2012
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State men's soccer team put an emphatic halt to its two-game skid with a 3-0 victory over a scrappy Gonzaga bunch Saturday afternoon at steamy Lorenz Field. The win moves the Beavers to 3-2-1 on the season and 2-0 at home.
The first half was played mostly to a stalemate, but that changed with the insertion of sophomore Glenn Paden. He brought an instant energy to the field leading to the Beavers' first goal. Paden executed a give-and-go with senior Emery Welshman, leaving Welshman to beat a defender to the ball and to wait out goalkeeper Ryan Caballero. He did both to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead.
“I saw Glenn make a good run, and the defender didn't follow me so I yelled for it back,” Welshman said. “I probably could have hit it a lot earlier than I did, but I wanted to see what the keeper would have done. He dove down a bit early so I just chipped it over him.”
The goal was Welshman's second of the season (Check out his Senior Spotlight video feature). The goal took some of the pressure away from Oregon State, as Gonzaga forced the issue on occasion. Freshman keeper Matt Bersano withstood a challenge in the 23rd minute by making a diving save to his left. The Bulldogs outshot OSU, 5-4, in the first half.
“Our play was okay but we weren't moving as quickly as we would like,” sophomore Will Seymore said. “But after the goal, we were energized.”
The Beavers added insurance in the 62nd minute. Senior Roberto Farfan's corner kick found its way to Brenden Anderson who fought the scrum and headed home his first goal.
“It was a scrappy goal,” Anderson said. “I got my head on it, and it kind of pinged around before going in.”
Paden capped the scoring in the 72nd minute on a turn-and-shoot option after being set up by seniors Chris Harms and Colin Mitchell. Paden has been fighting injury and his pent-up aggression helped to amp the Beavers back into the win column.
“Anytime a player gets that first taste of being on the field, they have a tendency to raise their level,” head coach Steve Simmons said. “He was the spark plug that was the conductor for this particular match.”
For more with Coach Simmons, watch his postgame media session.
The Beavers are now off until Friday for the first day of the annual Oregon State Hensor/Zaher Nike Classic. OSU will look for the 200th win in school history when it faces UW-Green Bay at 5:00 p.m. Gonzaga will be back in town to face UC Irvine at 2:00 p.m.
