The Oregon State University women’s soccer team defeated UC Irvine 3-2 at Paul Lorenz field on Thursday evening.
The last time OSU played UC Irvine was in the 2021 season, prior to Irvine’s NCAA tournament run last season, where they fell short in the third round to the University of Alabama.
Irvine played with confidence to start the matchup with one shot and two shots on goal in the first 17 minutes. However, OSU’s defense held strong against the pressure, as Oregon State goalkeeper Hailey Coll earned two saves in the first half.
UC Irvine forward Alyssa Moore made it past the OSU defense, back-heeling it off the post in the 18th minute with an assist by midfielder/forward Tati Fung.
OSU quickly turned it around with two shots on goal by forwards Mckenna Martinez and Regan Berg, pulling the Beavers back into the match just 10 minutes later.
The Beavers kept the ball in the attacking third of the field, with just one shot from UC Irvine throughout the rest of the first half following Moore’s goal.
After four corner kicks by Martinez and Oregon State forward Carley Carraher, who scored her first career goal for OSU in the 31st minute and was assisted by defender Helena Brown on the goal, brought the score to 1-1.
Just three minutes later, Martinez made it through two defenders and scored a second goal for OSU in the right corner of the net to make the score 2-1.
The Beavers and Anteaters played a fairly even match to begin the second half. UC Irvine got a shot off in the 56th minute, which was quickly followed by a shot by OSU defender Amaya Bautista two minutes later.
Following three shots by the Beavers, OSU midfielder Valerie Tobias scored the go-ahead go for the Beavers, off of an assist by midfielder/defender Gwenyth Jacobs, bringing the score to 3-1 in the 70th minute.
Coll made a save in the 87th minute, but it was not enough as Moore broke past OSU’s defense a minute later to make the score 3-2.
After giving up the late goal to UC Irvine, the Beavers held on and closed out the game, leading by one goal. The Beavers had a total of 14 shots, eight shots on goal, and six saves by Coll throughout the match.
Up next, the Beavers have a road match against Boise State University on Sunday at 2 p.m.