Arnau Farnos was drafted into the MLS in 2024. Instead of going pro with New York City FC, he decided to return to Oregon State University for one final season. 

In a Saturday night win over Saint Mary’s, Farnos scored two of the Beavers’ goals as Oregon State defeated the University of Saint Mary’s (Calif.) 3-0 at Paul Lorenz Field in Corvallis. OSU, currently ranked No. 19 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll, advanced to 6-3 on the season. The Gaels dropped to 0-4-5. 

“I think since I’ve been here, I feel super loved from everybody,” the senior midfielder said after the game. “And with my degree, I still had a lot of credits to do. So it was the opportunity to – also talking with New York City – it was a chance (to) go back one more year … show my skills and everything.”

Farnos, the reigning West Coast Conference offensive player of the week after putting together two goals and one assist over the Beavers’ last two games, replicated that performance in 90 minutes against the Gaels. 

“I think he embodies everything that’s right about our program and how we do things,” Jarred Brookins, Oregon State’s head coach, said of Farnos after the game. “I find with most super talented attacking players, they’re usually the hardest players to manage. And he’s the opposite.”

Saturday’s win was the Beavers’ first home match in exactly a month – OSU last played in Lorenz in a Sept. 4 victory over Cal State Fullerton, which also marked Farnos’ last two-goal performance. He’s now up to eight goals in nine games played. 

“I mean, obviously the crowd support tonight was awesome,” Brookins said. “It’s good to have students back. Good to be back home. A really fun atmosphere here at Lorenz and an exciting time.”

It was Saint Mary’s, not Oregon State, who got the first shot in Saturday’s game. However, the ball careened off of the Gaels’ Bastian Toelhoej’s foot, missing the goal wide to the right. 

Besides that momentary scare, the Beavers largely kept possession of the ball on the Gaels’ side of the field for the first 20 minutes. But despite multiple shots, they couldn’t get on the board. Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Sam Bentley finished the night with three saves.  

Then Saint Mary’s had another chance at a score. The Gaels’ Sam Jackson broke away from the pack with a shot at the goal, but Oregon State goalkeeper John Nicolson beat him to the ball, launching it with a kick that sent it arcing into the parking lot as fans waved goodbye. 

“I think they’ve really embraced that mentality of really being difficult to score on,” Brookins said, “and I think if we keep that, I think we’re a really hard team to beat.” 

In the 26th minute, Farnos struck for the first time, with assists from teammates Fabian Straudi and Fran Cortijo. The Beavers didn’t wait long to grow their lead even more, with graduate student midfielder Lucas Fernandez-Kim scoring less than three minutes later off assists from Straudi and Farnos. 

“Probably the best half that we played so far in the season,” Farnos said. 

Oregon State entered the second period with a two-goal lead. The Beavers also had 14 shots and six corner kicks to the Gaels’ three and zero, respectively. 

In the final 45 minutes, it would be Saint Mary’s who had more scoring opportunities. After the break, the Gaels repeatedly pushed the ball on the Beaver side of the field, logging nine shots to OSU’s three.

“I’m certainly frustrated with how we approached the second half,” Brookins said. “I mean, we knew (Saint Mary’s) would push back, and I think that their results are not very indicative of how they are as a team. … so I didn’t think we managed the second half well.”

However, in the 89th minute, Farnos scored his second goal, putting the Beavers up 3-0 with under two minutes left. 

“Always is nice to score,” he said. “But also, scoring at the end of the game, to close the game – it’s really, really nice.”

“The goal finally at the end there was really the first time that we strung a few passes together, and that’s not us” Brookins said. “And so I think we still have some maturing to do. We still have some growing up to make sure that we can manage a lead and continue to play our game.”

“But overall, just happy with the result: 3-0 at home, you can’t complain too much about that” 

Besides being undefeated in Corvallis to start the season, the Beavers have also yet to lose a WCC game, now at 2-0. Next up in conference play, Oregon State will face LMU on the road on Oct. 10 before returning to Lorenz to take on Portland – currently the NCAA’s top-ranked men’s team – on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. 

“It’ll be a really fun two games there,” Brookins said. “I think those two teams are two contenders. It’s a good start, but the next two, I think, will really shape how the race looks.” 

Farnos, who New York City still has the rights for, said the short term matters the most: “I think we can go really far as long as we stay focused and we take care of business every single game.”

“(If) we perform at the level that we should, I think we will have a successful year.”