Beavers ground Wright State 4-0 at Hensor/Zaher Classic.

8/28/2016

Corvallis, Ore. – The Oregon State men’s soccer team erupted for three second-half goals on Sunday to defeat Wright State 4-0 at Lorenz Field in Game 2 of the annual Hensor/Zaher Classic.

The Beavers (1-0-1) scored the most goals in a home game since a 6-2 victory over California on Oct. 5, 2014. They had not scored four goals in any game since a 4-3 win at California on Nov. 17, 2014.

OSU won and tied its two games in the tournament, which honors the memory of OSU lettermen Stephen Hensor (2000-01) and Joe Zaher (2002). Hensor died of liver cancer on Aug. 30, 2002; Zaher died on Dec. 1, 2002, of injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

The Beavers widely outplayed DePaul in a 1-1 double-overtime tie on Friday night in their tournament opener. They outshot DePaul 18-10 overall and 15-3 in the second half and overtime, but could not score.

On Sunday, however, the converted four of their nine shots on goal and left no doubt about the outcome.

“If you look at the chances, they weren’t different from what we created on Friday,” OSU coach Steve Simmons said. “It’s a game of inches and today we (capitalized) on our chances.

“I think some of the difference between today and Friday is that we started much better today, and that gave us a lot of momentum. When our subs came in they accelerated that; we got as goal and we didn’t look back.

“We will build on this, we know we can get better. Today was a good response from our guys after being disappointed on Friday.”

Freshman David Norman Jr. shattered a scoreless tie at 37:26 with his first career goal, about six minutes after subbing in. He blasted half-volley from about 20 feet that rocketed past Raider keeper Ryan Pignatiello; juniors Timmy Mueller and Jaime Morales assisted.

Junior Jordan Jones made it 2-0 at 67:35 when he hammered home the rebound of freshman Eric Diaz’s shot. It was his second goal of the tournament and the 19^th tally of his career.

Junior Jesse Garcia, a transfer from Akron, made it 3-0 at 74:25 with his first career goal. His shot from 15 feet finished off a three-way play with Jones and Norman.

Sophomore Don Tchilao then doubled his career goal output to two by converting a long-range shot at 82:39, assisted by Garcia. His previous goal came in a 3-1 win at San Diego State on Nov. 8, 2015.

OSU played the final 30 minutes with a man advantage after Wright State’s Dan Bent was sent off after instigating a scuffle with OSU goalie Nolan Wirth at 60:14. Wirth had two saves in his eighth career shutout.

Wright State (1-1-0) topped Portland 3-1 at Merlo Field in Friday’s other tournament game.

The Beavers host San Jose State at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lorenz Field in Game 1 of the Portland Nike Classic. They conclude the tournament and a season-opening four-game homestand against Ohio State at noon on Sept. 5 (Labor Day).

OSU has never played the Buckeyes. It edged Michigan State 1-0 at Lorenz Field on Aug. 30, 2015, in its most recent game against a Big Ten Conference opponent.

“Now we regenerate, repair and get ready for next weekend,” Simmons said.

Corvallis is frequently listed among the “best college towns” in the country by many magazines.  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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