Women’s soccer battles hard but falls short to Bruins

Beavers suffer first defeat at home this season

The+Oregon+State+womens+soccer+team+taking+on+the+UCLA+Bruins+at+Paul+Lorenz+Field+on+Oct.+15.+The+Beavers+would+lose+the+game+by+a+score+of+4-1.+

Alejandro Paniagua, Sports Contributor

The Oregon State women’s soccer team taking on the UCLA Bruins at Paul Lorenz Field on Oct. 15. The Beavers would lose the game by a score of 4-1.

The No. 24 Oregon State women’s soccer team fell short to No. 7 ranked UCLA Bruins on Oct. 15 by a final score of 4-1.

This loss not only snapped a two-game winning streak for the Beavers, but it also brought an end to a six-home-game winning streak at Paul Lorenz Field.

The matchup between the two top 25 teams was a wild one. The Bruins would get out to an early lead, scoring at the 10th minute by Bruin graduate midfielder Olivia Athens, and at the 27th minute by Bruin junior defender Brianne Riley. The Bruins would increase their lead by putting up their third goal within the first 30 minutes of the match, done by Bruin sophomore forward Reilyn Turner .

The rest of the half would be rather quiet by both teams. However, continuing the pressure from the strong start against the Beavers defense, the Bruins’ would put up 11 shots on goal to only two opportunities for the Beavers in the first half.

Senior goalkeeper Bridgette Skiba saved five of those 11 shots for the Beavers, with most of those goals coming off of second chance opportunities. While the Beaver defense did improve, they would give up the fourth goal of the game, nine minutes into the second half at the 54th minute. Oregon State’s defense would have trouble clearing the ball, allowing Bruin freshman defender Lilly Reale to sneak by, which would barely miss the fingertips of Skiba.

The game would become rather silent with no scoring by either team for the next 35 minutes. The Beavers would trail in possession time throughout the game, yet still come out stronger and became more aggressive in the second half.

The aggressiveness would allow the Beavers to get the goal that they were searching for at the 89th minute mark. With an assist by Beaver sophomore forward Bryana Pizarro, Beaver freshman forward McKenna Martinez was able to capitalize with a shot that would hit the top crossbar and go in. This would be Mckenna’s 7th goal this season, a team high.

Both teams fought hard till the very end. There were a total of 15 fouls between the two teams, with nine of those coming by the Beavers. The game would only end up with only four total corner kicks, with the two teams splitting evenly at two apiece. The Beavers would add onto their shots on goal and bring that total up to four, whereas the Bruins’ would continue to be in demand and add another five.

Head women’s soccer coach Lauren Sinacola noted while the team was slow in the first half, it was in the second half where the Beavers started to pick up the pace.

“I am proud of what we did in the second half,” Sinacola said. “We had a better mentality, we had players step up and we made some adjustments that our players ran with. In the end, we looked more like ourselves in the second half. We won’t be seeing that first half team again.”

Now with an 11-3 overall record, the Beavers will hope to get back in the winning column, as they face off against the University of Utah Utes on Oct. 21 in Salt Lake City. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

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