A sunny Sunday afternoon in Corvallis saw a crucial West Coast Conference matchup between second-place Oregon State and third-place University of San Francisco.
Despite a dominating display from the Beavers, they were unable to break down a staunch Dons defense, being held to only one goal in a 1-1 draw.
The Beavers controlled the first half, creating early chances, however, the Dons also threatened, having large spells of possession in the first 15 minutes.
The key moment of the first half would come in the 18th minute, as Tomas Bedouret tripped Dons midfielder Gabriel Bracken Serra at the edge of the penalty area, resulting in a point to the penalty spot from the referee.
As boos and whistles rained down from the crowd, Bracken Serra’s penalty was tipped onto the crossbar on a heroic effort from Beavers goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz. Unfortunately for Cruz and the Beavers, the rebound bounced right back to Bracken Serra, who headed into an open goal.
Following the goal, the Beavers turned up the pressure in search of an equalizer, fueled by adjustments from head coach Greg Dalby and his staff, with midfielder Alejandro Silva entering the game to help spark a Beavers response.
The equalizing goal was nearly there for the Beavers right before halftime, as Ellis Spikner’s point blank attempt forced a miraculous reflex save from Dons ‘keeper Eric Waltz.
Despite nine shots and 68% possession in the first half, the Beavers found themselves behind at halftime.
The second half would resume the way the first ended, with total Beaver domination without creating many clear chances.
After having an overwhelming majority of possession, the Beavers would concede the best chances of the half, with Cruz forced into several key saves as the Dons struck on the counterattack.
His most noteworthy work came at the 60-minute mark, making two game-changing saves in quick succession to deny the Dons from doubling their lead.
The Dons would finally break under the pressure of the Beavers relentless attack in the 72nd minute.
Midfielder Pere Belmonte would split a few Dons defenders before releasing a long-range shot that appeared to be fairly comfortable for ‘keeper Waltz.
However, Waltz made a mess of the shot, pushing the rebound right into the path of Beavers striker Sergi Solans, who tucked the ball between Waltz’s legs, leveling the game at 1-1.
For Solans, this was his 12th of the season, breaking the program record for most goals by a freshman in their first season. Another record for the first-year Spaniard in orange and black.
The Beavers, willed on by the home support, would nearly find the winner, as Arnau Farnos fired over from just inside the penalty area with six minutes to go, before Enzo Newman sent a cross flying across the six-yard box, nearly connecting with Solans in the last minute.
Shortly after, the final buzzer was sounded, and despite an immense effort and relentless pressure, the Dons would hold the Beavers to a 1-1 draw, their first draw in WCC play this season, and their first home game in WCC without a win.
Despite the frustrating result, Dalby remained positive post-game, saying, “I thought our guys played really well.”
“I’m a little sick about the result, but when you objectively evaluate the performance, I thought a lot of players had really good games.”
The final regular season home game for the Beavers is on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7, as they host Bowling Green in a non-conference clash on senior night.
About the upcoming game, Dalby said, “It’s a quick turnaround, so we will look at freshening the group up a little bit.”
Regardless of the somewhat disappointing result, Dalby remains focused on improving and looking ahead.
“We’ll take a look at the video and figure out how to get better for Bowling Green.”