CORVALLIS, Ore. – Roberto Farfan and Emery Welshman each scored magnificent goals for Oregon State and the team’s defense clamped down in the second half, as the Beavers picked up a hard-earned 2-1 win over California (3-6-4, 0-4-2 Pac-12) on Friday night at Paul Lorenz Field.

“You look at us as a four-win team, [but] I would put us as the best four-win team in the country,” Oregon State head coach Steve Simmons said after his team’s gritty performance.  “I’m so happy for them because … the guys trained hard this week and were looking forward to playing at home.  They deserved it and I’m so proud of them.”

The win ups Oregon State’s record to 2-3-1 in Pac-12 play and 4-8-2 overall.

A scoreless affair at intermission, Welshman helped Farfan to his fourth goal of the season just under five minutes into the second half and gave the Beavers the one-goal advantage.  As he has done much of the year, Welshman weaseled his way free from a host of defenders on the far side of the field, and set up Farfan at the top of the box, who used his dominant left foot to fire a shot at the far post and past Cal’s keeper.

The teamwork displayed on the goal was the third time this season that Farfan has scored on an assist from Welshman.  His strike tied him with Alex Eckerson for the team lead in goals, with four, and Welshman took over the Pac-12 lead in assists with his seventh of the season.

The Beavers held the lead for only a short while, however, as Cal drew a penalty in the box on a free kick from 25-yards out.  Steve Birnbaum put the penalty shot past Steve Spangler to tie the game, 1-1, with 35 minutes to go.

In the 70th minute Welshman sent the crowd into a frenzy when he settled a throw in just in front of OSU’s bench and single-handedly weaved his way through the Cal defense, used his right boot, and fired a shot through to the back of the net to put the Beavers up, 2-1.

“Emery takes a lot of responsibility to be the goal scorer,” Simmons said of his striker.  “He knows deep down what his job is here and he also knows the history of Oregon State soccer forwards and he wants to be one of those guys … We know he’s one of the best strikers in the country, hands down.”

With the lead, Oregon State’s stellar defense clamped down even more on the Golden Bears, clearing the ball at every chance and making it difficult for Cal’s forwards to operate in the box.

Spangler made four saves on the night and Oregon State claimed the victory after being out-shot for first time in the past five games (17-7).  With the win, the Beavers earned three points over Cal for just the second time since 2003.

“I wouldn’t call it a weight off our shoulders, but it’s something that the guys deserve, and we need to roll this into Sunday,” Simmons said.

OSU will aim to keep the momentum going when they host Stanford in the squad’s final home match of 2011.  The game, scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m., will be preceded by a ceremony to honor the Beavers’ seniors, Steve Spangler and John Swenson.

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