Oct. 7, 2012
SAN DIEGO -
Oregon State-San Diego State Final Box
The San Diego State men's soccer team suffered a tough 1-0 loss at the hands of Oregon State Sunday afternoon at Montezuma Road. With the loss, the Aztecs dip to 4-5-2 (0-3-1 Pac-12), while the Beavers move to 6-4-1 (1-2-0 Pac-12).
The first half ended in a scoreless tie, but it was not without a handful of scoring chances for San Diego State. The Aztecs had a great look at the goal in the ninth minute when John Pegg connected with an on-rushing Evyn Hewett, who fired a missile from the left side that sailed wide right.
Later, Oregon State looked to have its best scoring chance of the afternoon when Mikhail Doholis located Emery Welshman. Doholis' pass, however, was off the mark and Casey Meuser came running through the box and booted the ball out of bounds.
In the 10th minute, Ata Ozbay dribbled the ball into the box and had the ball knocked away by a couple of Beavers. The ball ricocheted to Kevin Bick, who was on the left, and his attempt at scoring the game's first goal was thwarted by OSU goalkeeper Matt Bersano.
Blake Wise, who scored from 30-yards Friday night vs. Washington, looked to duplicate his effort against the Beavers, but his blast in the 28th minute sailed wide left. Then less than two minutes later, Oregon State's Khiry Shelton had a clean look at the goal, but Blake Hylen made a sprawling save to preserve the scoreless draw.
The game moved to the second half with no score, but that was put in danger in the opening moments as Emery Welshman's shot took a high hop that forced Hylen to make a leaping grab.
The game went up and down for the next nine-plus minutes with no shots being recorded, but that was put to an end in the 55th minute by Kody Duff. The junior had a clear look at the net and his shot was threatening enough that Bersano dove to his left to make sure the ball did not sneak into the lower right corner.
On the opposite end of the field, San Diego State failed to clear the ball cleanly and Welshman found himself with possession. The forward then took a few dribbles, created space between him and his defender and tucked his shot into the lower left corner from 15 yards out.
The teams continued to trade possessions with neither team finding daylight until the 69th minute when Ata Ozbay had a full head of steam. The senior appeared to have been taken down, but nevertheless, made a sliding kick that scooted just past the left post.
Ozbay's close call was the theme the rest of the way as the Aztecs had three solid attempts at finding the equalizer. The first came with 17 minutes left in regulation when Hewett headed the ball to the area where Bick was waiting. The 50-50 ball, however, was grabbed out of the air by Bersano just three yards from the goal line.
Not even two minutes after Hewett's header, Ozbay headed a ball that was blocked out of harm's way by Bersano. The OSU keeper, once more, dashed SDSU's hopes in the 85th minute when Duff headed the ball looking for the inside right post, but Bersano was at it again as he made a diving poke save to his left.
In the final four minutes of the game, the Aztecs earned four corner kicks, but were unable to find the goal they needed to force overtime.
For the second time this week, San Diego State outshot its opponent, this time finishing with an 11-7 advantage. The Aztecs also attempted seven corner kicks, including six in the second half. In comparison, Oregon State had just two corners, both of which occurred in the first half.
Wise led all players with three shots, and Bick, Ozbay and Duff each had two shots apiece. Hylen finished his afternoon with four saves.
SDSU returns to action on Friday when it closes out the first half of Pac-12 action against UCLA. First tap at Montezuma Road is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT. Admission is free.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Kevin Bick is the Man of the Match for his gutty performance vs. the Beavers. The junior captain suffered a scary injury in the 11th minute and was on the ground for a few minutes. Bick left the game and did not return until the second half in the 61st minute. The Louisville, Ky., native nearly the game's first goal before his injury and almost had the equalizer. He finished with two shots, both of which came on goal, in 40 hard-fought minutes.