OSU Men’s Soccer Wins Exhibition Opener vs. Simon Fraser, 3-0

Salem-News.com

CORVALLIS - Playing under lights for the first time, the Oregon State men’s soccer team defeated visiting Simon Fraser, 3-0, in an exhibition game on Tuesday night at Lorenz Field.

Corvallis’ own Justin Woodward (Corvallis HS) scored in his Beaver debut, as the freshman opened the scoring in the 40th minute. Sophomore Robby Christner (Springfield, Ore./Thurston HS) and freshman Jordan Harris (Eagle, Idaho/Eagle HS) scored in the 72nd and 77th minutes, respectively.

“It was exciting to play under the lights for the first time,” OSU Coach Dana Taylor said. “It’s a milestone for the program. It was a great atmosphere and a lot of fans showed up. Everybody was able to contribute tonight. It was a great opportunity to show the entire depth of the team. I thought we did some things quite well, and there were some others things that we’ll have to work on in the next week.”

Lights were recently installed at Lorenz Field and were tested out for the first time last week. This was the first game to utilize the lights.

The exhibition was broken up into three 30-minute periods. The Beaver first team was held scoreless in the first frame, but Woodward’s goal gave the Beavers a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the second period. Junior Nick Webb (Bellingham, Wash./Squalicum HS/Western Washington) made a long run with the ball up the left side, and deftly dribbled into the top of the box, attracting both Simon Fraser defenders. That left Woodward open on the right side, and after Webb pushed the ball over to him, Woodward scored on a well-placed shot inside the left post.

On Christner’s goal, freshman Ryan Fitzgerald (Beaverton, Ore./Westview HS) sent a long pass from the middle of the park up the left side. Christner won the ball to beat a defender, giving him a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. When the goalkeeper went low, Christner shot high and into the back of the net.

Freshman David Gates (Bountiful, Utah/Woods Cross HS) helped create the third goal as he got free in the box, but the onrushing Simon Fraser goalie got his hand on it before Gates could shoot. The ball deflected toward the right end line, and Harris ran onto it. From a tricky angle, he scored into the open net.

The Beavers controlled play and outshot the Clan, 16-4. Simon Fraser had to play the final 12 minutes a man down after Scott McEachern received his second yellow card.

OSU plays its second and final exhibition this Friday (Aug. 18) against Trinity Western at 8 pm.

OSU 0-1-2---3

SFU 0-0-0---0

Goals: Justin Woodward (Nick Webb), OSU, 39:27; Robby Christner (Ryan Fitzgerald), OSU, 71:03; Jordan Harris (David Gates), OSU, 76:50.

Shots: OSU 16, SFU 4 Corner Kicks: OSU 4, SFU 2 Fouls: OSU 23, SFU 23 Saves: OSU 2, SFU 3

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