Oregon State
Exhibition Match: OSU v. NW Nazarene
Men's Soccer Tops Northwest Nazarene in Exhibition
August 23, 2013 | Men's Soccer
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State men's soccer team scored four goals in the second 45 minutes, as the Beavers defeated Northwest Nazarene 6-0 in an exhibition match at Paul Lorenz Field Friday afternoon. Senior Daniel Van Vleet found the net twice, while classmate Josh Smith tallied one goal and one assist and fellow senior Alex Eckerson recorded a pair of assists. The match included an additional 30 minute overtime period to allow players to receive additional playing time.
“There are some kinks we still need to work out,” said head coach Steve Simmons. “In the first half we were a little disjointed at times. We'll tighten up some things in training next week. It took our guys a little while to figure the game out, but in the end they did, and you have to give them credit for that.”
The game remained scoreless for the opening 44 minutes, until junior Will Seymore opened the scoring when he curled a free kick from 24 yards out into the right side of the net to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
Senior Brenden Anderson was the first player to score in the second half, as he headed the ball past the goalie in the 54th minute. The header came off a cross from Eckerson, following a corner from freshman Ole Sandnes.
Sophomore Mikhail Doholis followed up Anderson's goal with a tally in the 62nd minute. Freshman Devonte Small started the play off by making a pass to junior Khiry Shelton, who proceeded to find Doholis in space on the left side of goal.
Van Vleet recorded his first of two goals in the 75th minute, when the senior forward headed the ball over the goalkeeper on a pass played into the box by Eckerson. Van Vleet then found the net for a second time just as the second half came to a close, scoring in the 90th minute on an assist from Smith.
Smith closed out the scoring for the afternoon, knocking in a header in the 102nd minute on a cross from freshman Jonathan Stadler.
“We built up some confidence when we scored that first goal, and we just carried that into the rest of the game,” Van Vleet said. “Overall I'm pretty happy with our performance today.”
As a team, the Beavers outshot the Crusaders 27-7 in the match, and tallied six corner kicks, compared to Northwest Nazarene's one.
The Beavers will open the regular season on Aug. 30, when they match up with Cleveland State at Paul Lorenz Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
