Oregon State Takes Control of Pac-12 With 4-1 Win Over Cal Baptist

Headed into Wedneday night's matchup. Cap Baptist held a one point lead over Oregon State in the Pac-12 Men's Soccer Standings. The Beavers grabbed control of the top of the standings with a dominant 4-1 win over the Lancers, improving their record to 6-1-4 over the full season, and 2-0-1 in Pac-12 play.

The Beavers took the lead early in the game. In the 11th minute, Gavin Wolff fired a shot that was deflected by Cal Baptist goalkeeper Ulrik Stroem. Tim Hoffman grabbed the rebound and launched a second shot before Stroem could get back in position to defend, scoring Oregon State's first goal of the night.

It didn't take long for Hoffman to score a second goal for the Beavers. In the 24th minute, the Lancers mishandled a goal kick, allowing the Beavers to take position before the Cal Baptist defense was really set. Michael Nesci sent a quick pass to Hoffman near the goal, and Hoffman fired a quick shot through a gap in the Lancer defense, putting the Beavers up 2-0.

While the brace was secured for Hoffman, the Beavers couldn't find a third goal in the first half, despite some quality shots from Aidan Marquez and Evan Carlock. After the halftime break, Oregon State came back out firing, and found their third goal in the 57th minute.

This time it was Aidan Marquez, who had been close to a few times earlier in the night but finally broke through in the second half. After intercepting a Cal Baptist pass, the Beavers brought their speed in transition. Max Eisenberg got the ball to Marquez right in front of the goal, and Marquez slipped it right inside the near post for the score.

Just a minute later the Lancers answered with their lone goal of the night. A cross from Nicholas Coope got the ball to Drew Hardin, who shot the ball past John Nicolson right into the center of the goal. The Lancers clearly weren't ready to write this game off.

The score lit a fire under Cal Baptist, who had already been playing aggressively in the second half. In the first half the Lancers had only managed two shots, but in the second they outshot the Beavers 15 to 5, aggressively attacking the Oregon State goal to try to even the game.

Despite that, the Beavers got their three goal lead back in the 64th minute. A corner kick from Oliver Hernandez Parra sent the ball right to Wyatt Borso, and you can't afford to give Borso many chances. His header was just outside the grasp of Ulrik Stroem, and the Beavers took a 4-1 lead.

Despite the Lancers continuing to rain shots, that would be the final. John Nicolson finished the night with five saves, the last one coming in the final thirty seconds as he thwarted Adam Marsli's chance at giving Cal Baptist a second goal. Cap Baptist's shooting made the Beavers' defense work in the second half, but Nicolson and the defense were too solid a wall.

Oregon State will be back in action in a few days. On Saturday, October 10th, they'll be in San Diego to face off against the UC San Diego Tritons in another Pac-12 matchup. Kick off is set for 7 PM Pacific.

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