Mueller Lifts Beavers Over Cal
BERKELEY, Calif. – The Oregon State men’s soccer team dominated the second half on its way to a 1-0 road win over California Sunday afternoon.
Junior forward Timmy Mueller scored the game’s only goal in the 71st minute, curling a spectacular shot into the net from the left side of the box. Mueller’s goal, which came on the end of a long spell of Oregon State pressure, is the forward’s fifth tally in five career matches against Cal.
“We’re obviously very excited to get this win on the road,” said Oregon State head coach Steve Simmons. “It’s been a long time coming to be honest. I told the guys, there’s not a lot of difference between the win today, and some of the results that haven’t gone our way. The margins are so fine, and we covered those margins today. The guys deserve to be congratulated for the way they played. It’s tough to get results in this league, and it’s even tougher to get results on the road. We’ll enjoy this one, and then we’ll get back to work getting ready for next week.”
Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Vincent came up with 10 saves, en route to his first career clean sheet.
Oregon State’s first attacking chance came in the 18th minute, when a pass narrowly missed the feet of sophomore Don Tchilao. The Beavers would follow that up by earning a trio of corner kicks in the ensuing five minutes, but could not hammer a shot home.
Both defenses held firm for the remainder of the first half, as the teams went to the break with the match scoreless. Vincent tallied six saves for the Beavers in the opening 45 minutes.
Junior Jesse Garcia created the first Oregon State chance of the second half, finding some space for a shot, before forcing a save from 18 yards out.
Mueller came within inches of giving the Beavers the lead in the 59th minute, when his header was cleared off the line by a Cal defender.
Mueller and Miralles created back-to-back shots on goal in the 70th minute, leading up to Mueller’s breakthrough.
Junior Jordan Jones looked like he might double the OSU advantage in the 80th minute, when he broke on goal, but his effort was saved. Overall, the Beavers outshot Cal 10-7 in the second half.
Freshman Frazer Poulter made his first career start in the match, after making his Oregon State debut at Stanford on Thursday.
The Beavers will return home this week for their final homestand of the season. Oregon State will start the week off by hosting San Diego State on Thursday at 3 p.m.
For more information on the Oregon State men’s soccer team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/@BeaverMSoccer.
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