Oregon State
San Diego State
Paden's Diving Header Highlights Draw With SDSU
October 28, 2012 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 28, 2012
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Glenn Paden exudes a physical presence on the front line for the Oregon State men's soccer team with his 6-foot, 195-pound sturdy frame, but as OSU head coach Steve Simmons put it after the Beavers' 1-1 tie with San Diego State this afternoon, "Glenn can score some goals."
That was an understatement today as Paden's diving header in the 19th minute should move to the top of the class for this season's highlight reel. The pass came from Kevin Bodle - making his first start of the year - from the right sideline into the box where Paden time his horizontal flight to beat Aztec keeper Tim Peitsch.
Paden had a similar goal called back earlier this season due to an offside call, but this one stuck to give the Beavers a 1-0 advantage. That lead didn't last long, though, as SDSU's Kevin Bick drove the center of the Beavers' defense and launched a shot from the top of the 18-yard box to beat keeper Matt Bersano to his right. It was the only blemish on an outstanding afternoon for Bersano as he made eight saves, including five in the first half.
Those five saves helped the Beavers stay even with the Aztecs in the first half and it almost paid off in the second after OSU threw out numerous offensive opportunities. Khiry Shelton and Emery Welshman played creative game of give-and-go on a two-on-one, but Shelton's shot was blocked. On a corner kick, Bjorn Sandberg rang a header off the crossbar. And perhaps the best opportunity of the half came when Alex Penny's cross to Welshman just missed its mark at the top of the six-yard box.
"The last half of the second half and in both overtimes, I thought we had them on their heels," Simmons said. "We were making nice plays and I thought we were going to win it with Emery there at the end."
The Beavers move into their bye week next weekend and host Washington for Senior Day on Nov. 9.
