Oregon State
9-2-2, 1-2-2
California
9-3-2, 1-2-2
Beavers Battle Golden Bears to Draw
October 13, 2019 | Women's Soccer
CORVALLIS – Oregon State (9-2-2, 1-2-2) outshot California (9-3-2, 1-2-2), 22-11, while batting the Golden Bears to a 0-0 draw in Pac-12 play on Sunday afternoon.
"First and foremost, points in the Pac-12 are hard to come by," said head coach Matt Kagan. "I'm happy that we were able to get something out of the game. I thought we played excellent. We controlled a lot of the tempo and a lot of the ball on their end. Unfortunately, we weren't sharp enough in the final third of the field, and I think that was the real difference in the game. Cal is an excellent team that is very well coached and organized, so I'll take getting a point against a very strong team."
The Beavers came out attacking in the first half getting an early corner kick. Two minutes later, senior Ashleigh Fonsen and redshirt freshman Madison Ellsworth took back-to-back shots that were blocked and wide, respectively.
OSU continued the pressure with senior Paula Leblic getting a shot off after dribbling through three defenders, and McKenzie Weinert got a shot off from just outside the 18-yard box in the 16th minute of play. Laura Galceran and Nicole Nickerson each got their heads on the ball with just under 15 minutes to play in the first half with Galceran's shot being wide left and Nickerson's shot flying directly into the hands of Cal's keeper.
The Golden Bears nearly took the lead in the 36th minute when a shot hit the crossbar before OSU's defense cleared it. OSU went into the half leading in shots but tied, 0-0.
Oregon State continued to put pressure on the Bears in the second half with Leblic and Galceran getting shots off within the first two minutes. Brianna McReynolds managed to get off three shots within six minutes of play with the first one nearly finding the back of the net before it was saved by Cal's keeper.
Weinert, Leblic, Toni Malone and Sydney Studer each attempted to push OSU ahead but weren't able to find the back of the net in regulation.
Oregon State continued to battle through the first overtime period, but both teams remained scoreless leading to a second overtime. The Beaver defense stepped up on two different occasions to get Cal called offsides, and sophomore Bridgette Skiba came up with crucial saves down the stretch to help OSU come away with a draw.
"Going into overtime, our objective was obviously to get a goal," said Weinert. "Against a top-50 team, we wanted to press them, and we did that. We got a lot of looks on goal, unfortunately, we just weren't able to capitalize. We still have things we need to work on, but we are on the right page."
Skiba finished with three saves through 110-minutes of play. This was Skiba's fifth solo-shutout this season which moves her into tied for ninth is OSU's Season Records. The Beaver defense didn't give up a corner kick attempt to the Bears, while OSU took nine.
Oregon State continues the home stretch next Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. when the Beavers host Washington for the Dam Cancer match.
For more information on the Oregon State women's soccer team, visit OSUBeavers.com or follow the club @BeaverWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
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