The Barometer Online

Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Cory Reed CORY REED | THE DAILY BAROMETER Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Danny Mwanga runs with the ball in a spring game against Cascade Surge.

By Olivia Vivian

The Daily Barometer

While most decided to keep warm and stay indoors, the Oregon State men's soccer team took to the pitch Saturday night for its last match of what seemed to be a tiring spring schedule.

Even after the long month, the Beavers came together to stage an entertaining win.

Their opponents, Nike Swoosh, included five former OSU squad members. But experience wasn't enough for Swoosh as Oregon State pulled together to produce a convincing 4-1 win.

Right from the first kick off, Oregon State took control and dominated the flow of the game. The ongoing aggression resulted in freshman Danny Mwanga scoring the Beavers' first goal of the night. The one-up caused great excitement and high spirits going into the second half.

Oregon State returned to the field with the same aggression as the first half. Shortly after, freshman Taylor Thompson scored his first goal of his career at Oregon State with a diving header to give the Beavers a 2-0 lead. The goal sparked cheers among the small but loyal contingency of Beaver fans in the crowd.

Nike Swoosh forward Tracy Hasson, who spent his fall season playing at Paul Lorenz Field for OSU, picked up a goal on a penalty kick.

Hasson's goal did not slow Mwanga and the Beavers down as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year picked up his second goal. Mwanga felt that the Beavers made the most out of the last game of the spring schedule.

"I came in really hard this time and I knew it was my last chance to play for spring games," Mwanga said.

"Danny showed us what a special player he is," said head coach Dana Taylor. "We got on track in the attack and we did a good job of finding the forwards' feet."

Captain Justin Woodward whipped in a cross from deep and the retreating Swoosh defender struggled to deal with the pressure, resulting in an own goal.

On the other side of the pitch, coach Taylor was happy with his player's improved defensive work. Standing out on the defensive front for the Beavers were sophomore Chris Miller and freshman Matt Drake, who were constantly a thorn in the sides of Swoosh attackers.

"Defensively, [we were] pretty solid, and once again we put ourselves in position to win the game just by being in better shape defensively," Taylor said.

After a long spring session, the men used what they had learned during the spring and put it all together for their last spring game.

With the conclusion of the spring practices, Oregon State will hit the Sports Performance Center to perform weight sessions and work on individual skill training. The Beavers came together during the spring season and developed a strong chemistry that they hope will be strengthened with the addition of new athletes to their roster.

"We have a lot of freshman coming and we look forward to get together over the summer and be ready for next fall," Mwanga said.



Olivia Vivian, sports writer

sports@dailybarometer.com

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