Beavers Fall to Stanford, 2-0

OSU next visits the Bay Area to face California and Stanford for the second straight weekend.

Photo: OSU Athletics

CORVALLIS - Stanford senior midfielder Galen Thompson had a goal and an assist to lead the Cardinal men’s soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Oregon State in Pacific-10 Conference play at Lorenz Field on Sunday afternoon.

The Beavers dropped to 5-7-2 overall and have reached the midway point of the Pac-10 season with an 0-5 record.

The Cardinal, which also got a goal and an assist from Thompson in its 2-0 win at Washington on Friday, improved to 5-4-3 overall and 3-0-1 in the Pac-10.

The Beavers were outshot, 16-12, and their best opportunity might have come in the first couple of minutes. Junior midfielder Brett Gardner sent in a long cross from the left side, and senior forward Bryan Jordan ran past the defense and got his foot on the ball with much of the net wide open. But he couldn’t direct his shot and it went wide.

Stanford scored its first goal right at the 28-minute mark. A Stanford player brought the ball down the right wing, then crossed it toward the goal and near the right post. OSU’s goalkeeper and a defender converged on the ball with a Cardinal attacker. The Beavers had a solid chance to clear the ball, but the clearance attempt only went a few yards upfield, and Thompson was there to collect the ball and drill it inside the left post for his third goal of the season.

The Beavers had some strong chances in the second half, but every opportunity was snuffed out by the Cardinal defense.

Stanford had some near-goals as well. Thompson poked an attempt off the left post in the first half, and Michael Strickland hit the crossbar with less than six minutes to play in the game on a free kick.

With OSU pushing up toward the end of the game, Stanford countered for its second goal in the 86th minute. Thompson had the ball on the left wing and sent a perfect diagonal pass to the far right side, where Bret Shimizu latched onto it and went in on goal. OSU’s goalkeeper had no chance on Shimizu’s hard shot inside the left post, which was his first goal of the season.

Goals: Galen Thompson, STAN, 28:00; Bret Shimizu (Galen Thompson), STAN, 85:35.

Shots: OSU 12, STAN 16

Corner Kicks: OSU 5, STAN 6

Fouls: OSU 18, STAN 11

Saves: OSU 4, STAN 5

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