Oregon State Men's Soccer: Beavers Take Down UC Santa Barbara 3-0 in season opener

After being outshot 5-1 in the first half, the Gauchos opened the second aggressively, keeping the ball near the Oregon State goal for the first ten minutes of the period. Despite, that UCSB couldn't get a shot off before Oregon State reestablished their offensive game plan.

In the 54th minute, Andrew de Gannes fed the ball to Arnau Farnos, and Farnos then found Nico Nee with plenty of space to work with. Nee fired a bullet that caught UCSB goalkeeper Luke Skinner flat footed, hitting the bottom left corner of the goal for a 2-0 Beaver lead, and Nee's first goal in an OSU uniform.

Oregon State kept the pressure on, getting plenty of chances at a third goal, but it took until the 73rd minute for one to land. Nico picked up the ball and passed it back to a charging Fabian Straudi, who sliced his shot through multiple Gaucho defenders and into the net. 3-0 Beavers.

All this time, UCSB had only managed four shots, and only one had been on goal. They finally forced John Nicholson to make a save in the 82nd minute, but Nicholson kept the sheet clean. The Gauchos got one last chance to get on the scoreboard in the final minute of the game, after a yellow card on Oregon State's Mamadou Diallo gave them an excellent chance to score, but they couldn't convert, the Beavers held on to the shutout.

Arnau Farnos, Nico Nee and Fabian Straudi each picked up one goal and one assist in the season opener, with Andrew de Gannes also picking up an assist on Nico Nee's goal. The defense was also fantastic, with Fran Cortijo once again showing why he's one of the most dangerous defenders on the west coast.

This team might be really good, folks.

The next challenge for Oregon State will by Sunday, when the Washington Huskies come to Corvallis. The Huskies are coming off a rough defeat at the hands of the Denver Pioneers, and will be hungry for a win. Kick off is set for 3 PM PT.