Beaver Men’s Soccer Report: Oregon State On Top of the Pac-12

It’s been a big week for the Beavers. This weekend they had rematches against San Diego State and UCLA, the only two PAC-12 teams that have beaten them so far this season. Here’s what went down last weekend.

On Thursday, October 4th, the Beavers hosted San Diego State. The Aztecs had won the first meeting between the two teams 1-0. Much like the first game, this one was a defensive struggle, with neither team breaking in the first half.

Don Tchilao looked impressive early, and got the best shot of the half for the Beavers, but missed the goal high. Tchilao and Gloire Amanda managed a couple more shots in the half, but none were on goal.

San Diego State started the second half aggressive. In the 59th minute, the Aztecs managed a beautiful cross into a header right in front of the goal. It looked like SDSU would get the first score of the match, but Adrian Fernandez made an amazing save.

The Beavers then rebounded, taking offensive control. After the Beavers began attacking, SDSU committed a foul, and Tchilao was awarded a penalty kick. Tchilao has been deadly when taking penalties this season, and he did not disappoint.

That 1-0 lead was enough to give the Beavers the win. Despite being out shot in the second half 7-5, Fernandez and the Beavers D held strong.

The following Sunday, October 7th, the Beavers had their second rematch of the weekend, this time against UCLA. The Bruins took game one in LA 1-0, but anyone expecting another defensive battle, like that game and the San Diego State games, was about to be surprised.

Gloire Amanda and Sofianne Djeffal got the Beavers’ offense going early, but UCLA drew first blood in the 34th minute with a goal from Anderson Asiedu. The Beavers almost tied the game up right away, but Amanda’s header hit the crossbar.

Gloire made up for that miss just 8 minutes later, when he caught a cross from Don Tchilao, and his header found the corner of the goal. The game was now tied 1-1, heading into halftime.

UCLA got the lead back in the 64th minute, scoring off a Milan Iloski free kick. 3 and a half minutes later, Sofianne Djeffal tied things back up, with assists from Tchilao and Amanda leading to an incredible finish from 20 yards out.

The Beavers got their first lead of the match in the 82nd minute, with Hassani Dotson converting on a free kick. With roughly 8 minutes to go, it looked like the Beavers had the win almost wrapped up.

Unfortunately, the Bruins found a way to tie the game up a couple minutes later, with Brandon Terwege scoring on a nice cross. Regulation finished 3-3, and the game headed to overtime.

Overtime did not last long. Don Tchilao, already at two assists, decided to do it himself this time, brilliantly slipping between Bruin defenders to find his shot, and burying the ball in the corner for the golden goal. The Beavers win 4-3.

For his incredible play this weekend, Don Tchilao has earned numerous accolades. College Soccer News named him their National Player of the Week. Top Drawer Soccer placed him on their Team of the Week. He was of course the Pac-12’s Player of the Week, who could compete? Tchilao is making quite a name for himself as the season winds down.

Oregon State now sits on top of the Pac-12 standings with 19 points. Second place Stanford has 16. Stanford has more games left in the season than OSU, so the Beavers will need some help to hang on to first place, but they’ve found themselves in great position for the NCAA Tournament.

OSU has also broken into several of the national polls. They’re ranked 22nd by College Soccer News, 25th by Top Drawer Soccer, and 25th by the NCAA Men’s Soccer RPI.

The Beavers have one game left in the regular season. They take this weekend off before travelling up to Seattle on November 9th to take on Washington. The Beavers beat the Huskies in Corvallis 4-2, but Washington is a tough team.

The game will be aired on the Pac-12 Network, so if you haven’t yet, be sure to tune in and check out one of the most exciting soccer teams in the country.