No. 1 seed Beavers take down No. 16 Wildcats to stay alive in the Men’s Soccer NCAA Tournament

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Alejandro Paniagua, Sports Contributor

After defeating St John’s last Sunday, the No.1 seed Oregon State men’s soccer team defeated No. 16 seed New Hampshire 1-0 to advance to the Elite Eight.

The Wildcats entered the NCAA Tournament with a record of 17-2-2 and earned the 16th seed. They were awarded a first round bye, facing off against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels In the second round. New Hampshire won that matchup by a 4-1 final score.

The matchup between Oregon State and New Hampshire was the first meeting for both teams all time and was an exciting one at that.

With a sold out crowd and over 1500 fans in attendance, the fans showcased why they hold the title of best PAC-12 college town. The playoff atmosphere was ecstatic on a dry but chilly night.

Yet, the Beavers still showcased the recipe of success of their historic season and proved once again why they are the No. 1 overall seed.

The match between the two clubs started off with a series of fouls, an even split of two to two free kicks.

At the 9:01 mark of the match, Oregon State sophomore midfielder Mouhameth Thiam scored the only goal of the game for the Beavers assisted by redshirt-senior forward Tsiki Ntsabeleng. This goal was Thiam’s seventh goal of the season, second of the tournament.

However, the Wildcats would not play like they were behind in the match. The Wildcats are best known for their ball pressure and known for being extremely aggressive, and showcased both of those during the match.

At the 18 minute mark, the Wildcats would get two opportunities to get the score to one a piece ,but both shots failed to connect with the net after a defensive effort by the Beavers.

The competitive game from the two teams would carry out throughout the first half, with many fouls and corner kicks taking place.

The Beavers’ success comes off the patience and decision making of the team and it was highlighted in the first half which carried over into the rest of the match.

The defensive effort by both teams was the talk of the second half after various saves by Oregon State junior goalkeeper Adrian Fernandez at the 64th minute. The intensity continued over the span of the final twenty six minutes in Corvallis.

The Oregon State Beavers ended the game with 7 total shots, 3 of those shots were on goal while the New Hampshire Wildcats finished the match with 11 shots and 3 on the goal.

The University of New Hampshire committed 17 total fouls, two of which resulted in yellow cards. Oregon State had 12 total fouls with one yellow card of their own.

With the win against the Wildcats, the Beavers surpassed the previous record for the most wins in program history, with another opportunity to increase that record to 15-2-3 next weekend.

The No. 1 Beavers will face the No. 8 Clemson University Tigers , who are coming off a 2-1 win against the No. 9 University of Kentucky Wildcats.

The match up will take place at Paul Lorenz field once again in Corvallis. The matchup is scheduled for this upcoming Saturday(time yet to be determined) for the fourth round of the NCAA tournament.

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