Aug. 30, 2002
Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. - Joe Bartlome scored the lone goal of the match at 34:39 and Oregon State University made it stand up for a 1-0 season-opening men's soccer victory over Gonzaga University Friday at sunny Martin Field.
The Beavers won for just the second time in the last five outings with the Bulldogs, the match the first meeting between the schools since Gonzaga's 4-1 victory at OSU in 2000.
Bartlome's one-touch on a through ball from Matt Johnson got under sprawling Gonzaga senior keeper Mike McCarthy, who turned in an otherwise strong effort with eight saves as OSU held a slight 15-13 advantage in shots. Junior keeper Peter Billmeyer had six saves although he was not as severely tested as McCarthy.
The best scoring opportunity for the Bulldogs came at 4:53 when Connor Quinn hit the right crossbar on a header off a cross from Robert Anderson following a Gonzaga corner kick. Gonzaga had a difficult time penetrating for high-percentage shots, most of Billmeyer's saves coming on long-range shots.
McCarthy, meanwhile, was tested several times by the Beavers but kept the Bulldogs close with some big saves. Kevin Atkinson was denied from close in on the right wing at 43:18 when McCarthy made a save on a header attempt off a free kick. Five minutes later he stuffed a point blank attempt by Alan Gordon, and in the 54th minute he stopped Justin Kirk's header attempt from the right wing off a free kick.
With the Bulldogs pressing for the equalizer late in the match, Gordon broke loose for a hard shot from 15 yards that McCarthy saved. The Beavers had a 3-on-2 that Ryan Johnson took down the left wing and chose to shoot rather than pass, the ball going wide left. OSU had another chance to salt the game away in the 84th minute when Kirk's shot from close range off the right wing was stopped by McCarthy. On that play the Beavers came down on a 4-on-1, but the initial cross went wide right and Kirk got off the shot on the second attempt.
Gonzaga's best second-half chance came when Robert Anderson's header from the right wing off a free kick dribbled just past the far post.
The next action for both teams will come Friday when Gonzaga hosts the inaugural Nike Soccer Classic. Gonzaga will meet the University of Wisconsin at 1 p.m., with OSU facing the Air Force Academy at 3 p.m. Action continues Sunday with OSU facing Wisconsin at 10 a.m. and the Bulldogs taking on Air Force at 1 p.m.
