By: Jimmy Sheldrup |
A damp Merlo Field was the stage for Thursday night’s all-Oregon men's soccer match up where Portland took down undefeated No. 8 ranked Oregon State 1-0 in front of 1,959 fans.
The cross-state rivalry was marked by aggressive play. Two yellow cards were assigned before the 20 minute marker, and senior defender Hugo Rhoads took a knee to the head on a slide tackle. Two more yellow cards were assigned before the halfway mark and a red card was awarded to Portland's Jackson Jellah at the end of the game.
In minute 27, Rhoads blasted a shot from well outside the box. The goal was the second of the year for Rhoads, and gave Portland the early lead.
The Beavers, seemingly frustrated, played aggressively and the Pilots matched the intensity of a top ranked team.
With less than a minute to go, sophomore goal keeper Paul Christensen made a huge save as he was falling backwards, and in turn maintained the one goal advantage.
The first half closed with a scuffle, as an OSU player pushed Portland’s Colby Trah, and in turn received a chest bump from Eddie Sanchez. Both the OSU player and Sanchez received yellow cards.
Despite the constant OSU pressure, the Pilots' defense did not crack. Christensen made two big saves in minute 67, both diving, and then another save in minute 70.
As the end of the game neared, the intensity came to a peak as a slide tackle from Portland’s Jellah sent an OSU midfielder into the wall surrounding Merlo. Jellah was penalized with a red card and the Pilots were forced to finish the match with ten players.
To close out the game, Rhoads blocked a potential free kick goal with his head and the Pilots took the match 1-0.
Rhoads says this win is special not only because it gave the Beavers’ their first loss of the season, but also because it served as a confidence booster.
“We have been playing amazing these past few weeks as a team and we have not been getting the results we need because of little mistakes here and there,” Rhoads said. “But as we clean up the mistakes, we proved that we can play with the best.
The Pilots will return to play on Sept. 27 at 3:00 p.m. in Seattle, Washington against the University of Washington.
Jimmy Sheldrup is a sports reporter for The Beacon. He can be contacted at sheldrup18@up.edu or @CJSheldrup
