BERKELEY – California’s John Fitzpatrick scored in the second minute, Kevin Peach made seven saves and the Golden Bears held on for a 1-0 victory over Oregon State on Sunday at Edwards Stadium. Cal improved its record to 8-5-2 (3-3-1 in the Pac-12), while the Beavers fell to 6-7-2 (1-5-1 Pac-12) after the conference match.

 

The Bears swept the two-game season series over Oregon State, but this match was more challenging than the 3-1 game Cal won on Oc. 14 in Corvallis, Ore. This time Cal was coming off of a 1-1, two-overtime tie with Washington on Oct. 19 at Edwards, while the Beavers previously played in a 3-2 loss on Oct. 18 at Stanford.

 

“Coming off only one day’s rest as opposed to two for Oregon State, we knew this was going to be a very difficult game today, and certainly it was,” Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. “In the second half, our players played with amazing heart and fight. Credit both teams today for a very good game and an exciting match.”

 

The scoring play began when senior midfielder Tony Salciccia took the first corner kick of the game and found junior midfielder Alec Sundly on the far post. The junior midfielder headed back across the goalmouth to Fitzpatrick, and the senior forward tapped the ball in from close range at 1:25 for his third goal of the year.

 

“It was weird it came so early, but we just kept our heads down and pushed,” Fitzpatrick. “It gave us confidence, and our midfield, especially Alec and Tony, was holding it down.”

 

In the first half Cal wound up outshooting the Beavers, 8-5, and forcing OSU goalkeeper Matt Bersano to make three saves. Cal junior defender Ryan Neil put a long, 23rd-minute shot on goal, sophomore midfielder Seth Casiple took another long shot that Bersano saved in the 38th minute and Bersano stopped sophomore forward Stefano Bonomo’s shot in the 44th minute .

 

Peach, Cal’s sophomore goalie, made one save in the first half, as the Bears took their 1-0 lead into halftime.

 

OSU had a better second half, as the Beavers outshot Cal, 11-6, and had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks in the final 45 minutes.

 

The Beavers’ best chance to equalize came at 62:55, when they found leading scorer Emery Welshman in the Cal box, and the senior forward fired what looked to be a sure goal on Peach’s net. But a Cal defender cleared the ball of the goalline to preserve the lead.

 

Cal had a chance in the 77th minute after a nice buildup, which featured some quality passing from junior forward Luis Fuentes and sophomore forward Stefano Bonomo. But sophomore midfielder Connor Hallisey shot wide.

 

With the Beavers pushing forward, Fuentes had a chance late with Bersano off his line. But the keeper saved the Bear’s long shot – the game’s last – with two seconds left.

 

Cal is off this week and next plays on the road, with matches at San Diego State on Nov. 1 and at UCLA on Nov. 4.