Box Score I Photo Gallery
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The No. 19 Portland Pilots scored two goals just 34 seconds apart in the first half and added another goal in the second half en route to a 3-1 win over the Oregon State Beavers in an exhibition soccer match at Merlo Field on Wednesday night. Junior transfer Conner Barbaree and freshman Steven Evans both scored their first goal with the Pilots.
Barbaree got the scoring started when he converted a penalty kick in the game’s 13th minute. UP was awarded the PK when a cross sent in by senior Jarad vanSchaik from the left touch line was obviously knocked down by the hand of an OSU defender, inside the box.
Just moments later, the Pilots hooked up for a tremendous goal, which was set up by some pin-point passing. First, sophomore Joe Sleven slid a pass through a couple of OSU players, finding vanSchaik inside the 18-yard box. vanSchaik then fed a perfect ball to Luke, who cracked one inside right corner of the net from the middle of the box.
The score was still 2-nil when the Pilots resumed the scoring almost 20 minutes into the second half. Evans gained possession at the top of the box, beat the Oregon State keeper in a one-v-one opportunity and finished to make it a 3-0 Portland lead.
The Beavers scored their lone goal in the 73rd minute. Oregon State was awarded a free kick eight yards away from the Portland goal when the referee determined that goalkeeper Justin Baarts had picked up a ball that was played off of the foot of another UP player. Oregon State’s Roberto Farfan then drilled a shot into the top-left corner, pulling OSU within three.
But that’s as close as the Beavers would get as Baarts and the Pilots would close out the victory. Both Baarts, a sophomore, and starting keeper Austin Guerrero, a senior, made one save on the night, while OSU’s Steve Spangler didn’t record a stop.
The Pilots scored on their first two shots of the game. Oregon State was forced to play from behind all night, allowing the Beavers to finish with a slim 11-8 advantage in shots. Portland claimed a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
Portland next opens the regular season with the Nike Invitational Sept. 3-5 at Merlo Field. The invite gets going on Friday, Sept. 3 with Washington facing Evansville at 4:30 p.m. Portland follows with its season-opener against Northern Illinois at 7:00 p.m.
