SAN DIEGO – In a game in which either team could have come away with a victory, an Oregon State goal in the 98th minute sent the San Diego State men's soccer team home on the short end of a 1-0 decision on Thursday night at the SDSU Sports Deck.
At the 97:18 mark, OSU's Glorie Amanda picked up a loose ball 35 yards out and drove to the right side of the box. SDSU keeper Tetsuya Kadono raced off his line to cut down the angle but was a fraction of a second late getting to the ball. Amanda was able to pop it just out of the reach of Kadono and in for the game winner.
With the victory, the Beavers improve to 6-5-1 overall, 3-2-1 in the Pac-12 while the Aztecs drop to 3-9-1, 0-6-0 in Pac-12 play.
In the first half, Oregon State out shot the Aztecs 6-to-1 and put two of its shots on frame, but never truly threatened and the teams went to the intermission tied 0-0.
In the second half, San Diego State had the better run of play despite the team's come up equal in shots, 5-to-5. It was the Aztecs who had the more dangerous chances and in the final 15 minutes, particularly, SDSU had all the momentum.
At the 77:00 mark, Miles Stray had a header in the box which was stopped by OSU keeper Adrian Fernandez. In the 86th minute Tevenn Roux had a header which looked like it was going in inside the near post, but for a great save by Fernandez.
The final chance in regulation came off the boot of Adam Vargas who hammered a shot inside the 18, which a Beavers defender blocked to preserve the 0-0 tie at the end of regulation.
The overtime saw each team take two shots, but Oregon State's third attempt found the back of the net for the game winner.
For the match, Vargas led the Aztecs with four shots, two of which were on frame. Kyle Colonna, Pablo Pelaez, Roux, and Stray produced a shot a piece. Kadono made three saves and now stands at 0-2-0 for the season.
Oregon State's offense was paced Amanda who had three shots, with the lone attempts on goal being the game winner. Fernandez made three saves and is now 6-5-1.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Adam Vargas
THE QUOTE
"I very happy with what we were doing in the second half on the offensive end," head men's soccer coach Lev Kirshner said. "I was pleased that we slowed them down in the first half and we held firm and got into the half tied 0-0. In the second half, I was very proud of the way we came out and attacked and were able to get them on their back foot. I felt the momentum was going our way late in regulation and were excited going into the overtime. They played a little pinball here (in the midfield) and their guy just kicks it behind, and we have the type of moment that has hurt us a lot this year.
"In tonight's game, I was very proud of how we handled their changes in the first half and not give up anything too serious and then to come back in the second half and really get some flow and rhythm and get closer to what we want to do for 90 minutes. When you look at this game it was just a better effort from head to toe and from the first minute until the 98th."
NEXT UP
The Aztecs return to action on Sunday on the Sports Deck. San Diego State hosts the No. 1 team in the nation when the Washington Huskies come to America's Finest City. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Men's Soccer Falls To Oregon State 1-0 In Overtime
