Oregon State Men's Soccer: Furious Final Ten Minutes Gives San Diego a 4-2 Win Over the Beavers, and the WCC Title

Oregon State was close to pulling off a tie that would have given them a West Coast Conference championship, but a furious final 10 minutes from the San Diego Toreros gave USD a 4-2 win and a fourth consecutive WCC title. The loss ends the Beavers season with a 10-4-2 overall record, and a 6-1-2 conference record.

The Beavers made a statement early, with Arnau Farnos serving up Fran Cortijo for a perfect shot in the second minute, putting the Beavers up 1-0. It didn't take long for San Diego to equalize things, when an Iain Wagner shot deflected off of Diego Hernandez and into the Oregon State goal in the seventh minute.

The game turned into a defensive struggle after the early scoring, with neither side getting much in the way of shots. In the 25th minute the Beavers came close to gettting the lead back, with a header from Diego Rodriguez leading to a shot from Iker Carbonell Garcia, but Garcia's shot was high, and the game returned to a stalemate.

In the 34th minute it was the Toreros turn to go on the attack, with an extended sequence that forced some big saves from John Nicholson and some clutch blocks from the Beaver defense. A corner kick a minute later looked like it would be another dangerous chance for San Diego, but Nicholson punched the shot away and the Beavers cleared the goal. Neither side managed much else in the first half, which ended in a 1-1 tie.

The Beavers had an excellent chance to take the lead back early in the second half, when Fran Cortijo beat the San Diego defense and had an open look at the goal, but his shot bounced off the left crossbar. The Toreros got a great chance at a lead in the 63rd minute, when Luca Fava got a pair of shots off while the Beaver defense struggled to get the ball away from the goal.

San Diego kept the pressure on, and in the 67th minute they took the lead. A corner kick from Steven Ramirez deflected off a Beaver defender, putting the Toreros up 2-1. Oregon State needed to dig deep for an equalizer, and it looked like they found one in the 81st minute when Andrew De Gannes found a charging Nico Nee, who quickly scored. San Diego challenged the goal, saying there was a Beaver offside, but the goal stood, and the game was tied with less than 10 minutes to go.

San Diego didn't need much time to get the lead back. In the 82nd minute a free kick from Josh Martinez sailed past John Nicholson to put the Toreros up 3-2. Just like that, the Beavers were back in a hole, with time rapidly ticking away.

Oregon State almost answered the San Diego goal in the 86th minute when a Nico Nee free kick got the ball to Sava Catlett in front of the goal, but Catlett's shot was blocked. A corner kick set up Andrew De Gannes for another shot, but once again the Toreros blocked the attempt. That was the last chance the Beavers had, as San Diego grabbed an insurance goal in the 89th minute courtesy of Iain Wagner.

All we can do now is wait and see where Oregon State ends up in the postseason. The Beavers are will still certainly make the tournament field, but their odds of hosting without wining the conference championship have taken a big hit. We'll find out where they end up in the bracket on Monday, November 17th.

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