Gonzaga Beats OSU to Claim Zaher/Hensor Classic Crown

Xavier Also Wins.

File photo courtesy: OSU

CORVALLIS - The Oregon State men’s soccer team fell to Gonzaga 4-1 in the finale of the OSU Zaher/Hensor Memorial at Lorenz Field on Saturday night. In the first game, Xavier defeated UC Davis, 2-1.

Though not a true tournament, Gonzaga claimed first place in the Zaher/Hensor Memorial thanks to its two victories this weekend. Oregon State and Xavier each had a win and a loss, but OSU earned second place on goal differential (zero to -2). UC Davis, with two losses, finished in fourth place.

Gonzaga junior forward George Josten was the star of the weekend, as he had a hand in six of his team’s seven goals. He had two goal and an assist both tonight and in Friday’s 3-0 win over Xavier. Junior midfielder John Palladino scored the Bulldogs’ other two goals against the Beavers.

Gonzaga built a 2-1 halftime lead, then scored twice in the final three minutes to clinch the victory.

“Hats off to Gonzaga, they had a game plan and stuck to it,” OSU Coach Dana Taylor said. “We weren’t sharp tonight and that’s what it’s all about. Both teams brought a lot of energy to the game, and yet tonight Gonzaga was much sharper pulling off their game plan than we were.”

Gonzaga (3-2-1) scored first in the 14th minute. Josten slipped a through ball past the OSU back line, and Palladino ran onto it and scored from a few yards away on the right side.

Oregon State (4-2) tied the game shortly thereafter. Senior midfielder Lucas Egenwall (Falkenberg, Sweden) sent in a free kick from the left side.

It went into a crowd and was deflected to the far post to junior defender Alex Christensen (Las Vegas, Nev.), who headed it back across the goalmouth. Senior forward Bryan Jordan (Temple City, Calif.) slid in and knocked the ball into the back of the net. His second goal of the season came in the 19th minute.

Gonzaga, however, took the lead for a second time in the 33rd minute. John Reha put in a cross from the left side, and Josten leaped high among a crowd of players and headed it in.

Bulldog goalkeeper Vito Higgins helped keep the scoreline 2-1 at halftime, as with less than two minutes to go, he made a nice diving save to his right to stop a long-distance shot by OSU’s Egenwall.

Higgins made another excellent save in the 59th minute off a rocket by senior forward Robbie Findley (Phoenix, Ariz.) from 25 yards out, tipping the swerving blast over the bar. Two minutes later, he stopped another hard shot from inside the box by Findley.

The Beavers started to pile up shot attempts down the stretch, and ended up with overall advantages of 17-8 on shots and 9-6 on corner kicks, but couldn’t make any of them count.

With Gonzaga trying to waste time on OSU’s defensive end, the Bulldogs drew a foul on the left side of the box in the 88th minute. Palladino bent a hard free kick perfectly into the net for a goal (his second of the night and third of the season) that iced the game for Gonzaga.

Then, on a counterattack, Tye Perdido fed Josten for the game’s final goal with 47 seconds left on the clock. Josten now has six goals this season.

The first half of the first game was largely uneventful, as Xavier (2-3) and UC Davis (2-4) combined for six shots, and the first one didn’t come until 19 minutes had passed. The Musketeers made the most of one of their opportunities, however, in the 32nd minute.

Jon Enders had the ball in the right corner, and passed back to Slav Ubiparipovic at the top of the box on the right side. Given some space, Ubiparipovic hit a well-placed chip shot into the upper-left-hand corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

UC Davis had a strong chance to equalize in the 58th minute. Paul Marcoux got past the defense and went in one-on-one against Xavier goalkeeper Liam Curran, but Curran smothered the shot attempt.

The Musketeers came right back to make it 2-0 in the 61st minute. Joe Fleckenstein sent in a cross from the left side. Enders, who had assisted on the first goal, leaped to win the header from just a few yards away from the goal, and he looped the ball into the upper-left corner of the net. It was his second goal of the season.

The Aggies had another 1-on-1 opportunity in the 68th minute, but Quincy Amarikwa poked it wide right. UC Davis’s comeback attempt got a little tougher when Sule Anibaba was red carded with a little more than 15 minutes to play.

Still, the Aggies got a goal back in the 85th minute. Curran, the Xavier goalkeeper, tried to punch away a free kick by UCD’s Mariano Arrua, but didn’t get much on it, and the Aggies’ Marcoux headed it back into the net.

OSU 1-0---1 (4-2)

GONZ 2-2---4 (3-2-1)

Goals: John Palladino (George Josten), GONZ, 13:05; Bryan Jordan (Lucas Egenwall, Alex Christensen), OSU, 18:10; George Josten (John Reha), GONZ, 32:02; John Palladino (George Josten), GONZ, 87:31; George Josten (Tye Perdido), GONZ, 89:13.

Shots: OSU 17, GONZ 8 Corner Kicks: OSU 9, GONZ 6 Fouls: OSU 11, GONZ 12 Saves: OSU 2, GONZ 4

UCD 0-1---1 (2-4)

XAV 1-1---2 (2-3)

Goals: Slav Ubiparipovic (Jon Enders), XAV, 31:40; Jon Enders (Joe Fleckenstein), XAV, 60:09; Paul Marcoux (Mariano Arrua), UCD, 84:58.

Shots: UCD 10, XAV 8 Corner Kicks: UCD 6, XAV 5 Fouls: UCD 26, XAV 18 Saves: UCD 1, XAV 3

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