Late Goals Give Beavers 5-4 Win Over Gonzaga

Gonzaga hasn’t exactly been a men’s soccer power in the West Coast Conference this season, but they gave Oregon State everything they had Saturday night, almost pulling off a big upset over the Beavers. A pair of late goals gave Oregon State a 5-4 win, putting the Beavers at 7-3-2 overall this season, and 4-0-1 in conference play, while the Bulldogs are still looking for their first win in the West Coast Conference this season.

Fran Cortijo got the Beavers scoring started early, hitting the bottom left of the goal in the third minute of the game with an assist by Tim Hoffman. Hoffman added a goal of his own in the 17th minute, with asssists from Cortijo and Oliver Hernandez Parra, giving Oregon State an early 2-0 lead.

That lit a fire under Gonzaga. The Bulldogs got their first goal a few minutes later with Drew Pedersen setting up Morgan Olson for a goal in the 20th minute. Pedersen added a goal of his own in the 28th minute, tying the game for the Bulldogs.

Pedersen was in for a big night. In the 43rd minute he made a big play off a corner kick, catching Oregon State goalie John Nicholson flat footed for his second goal of the night, giving the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. Nicholson was off his game all night, allowing in all four shots he faced.

After several chances, the Beavers finally tied the game in the 67th minute, It was once again Arnau Farnos coming in clutch for Oregon State, picking up a cross from Lucas Hernandez-Kim and firing a bullet in to the top left of the goal, tying the game 3-3.

The tie score didn’t last 10 minutes, with Drew Pedersen completing his hat trick and giving Gonzaga back the lead in the 74th minute. With their backs against the wall and less than 20 minutes away form a monumental upset, the Beavers needed someone to step up.

Andrew De Gannes answered the call. In the 78th minute he got the ball through two Gonzaga defenders to a charging Sava Catlett, who slipped the ball past Gonzaga goal keeper Chema Preciado to tie the game at four a piece.

De Gannes added a goal of his own in the 85th minute, after a penalty against Gonzaga gave him a Penalty Kick near the goal. De Gannes made his shot and gave the Beavers a 5-4 lead. Gonzaga was unable to get a shot off over the final five minutes of the game, giving the Beavers the win.

Not the most impressive effort from the Beavs, but a win is a win. We’ll see if this was just a game Oregon State was looking past, or if there are some more fundamental issues with the team, in their next match against Seattle. That game is set for a 7 PM start on Saturday, October 25th

Late Goals Give Beavers 5-4 Win Over Gonzaga

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