Velasco, Jones Score as Beavers Earn Draw at Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. – Senior Jaime Velasco and sophomore Jordan Jones both got on the scoresheet, as the No. 16/21 Oregon State men's soccer team battled California to a 2-2 draw Friday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif.

Velasco's tally was his second in as many matches, while Jones' goal was his fifth of the campaign.

The match was played in the midfield for most of the early going, as the sides felt each other out. The Beavers' (7-3-1, 2-0-1 Pac-12) best early chance came in the 16^th minute when senior Mikhail Doholis took aim from distance, but the effort was high. Jones followed that up with a shot from the top of the box less than five minutes later, but the attempt rolled just outside the right post.

Oregon State found the breakthrough in the 22^nd minute, when Don Tchilao made a nice move to find some space down the right side. The freshman played a pass to Velasco at the top of the box, and the forward made no mistake from there, slotting the ball into the net to give OSU a 1-0 lead.

The Beavers continued to attack after taking the lead, with Doholis and Tchilao both creating chances within 10 minutes of OSU going ahead.  California (5-3-1, 0-1-1) would fight back, however, scoring two goals late in the opening frame to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission.

Jones scored the equalizer 15 minutes into the second half. The sophomore robbed a Cal defender of the ball to put himself in on goal, and then proceeded to fire the ball past the keeper to level the score at two.

The Bears came close to retaking the lead in the 65^th minute, when a Cal player found himself in on goal, but sophomore goalkeeper Nolan Wirth was quick off his line to make an impressive save from close range.

Freshman Nathan Braaten served a ball into the box in the 76^th minute that found the head of sophomore Timmy Mueller, but the forward could not direct the ball on target. Oregon State would continue to curl dangerous crosses into the box from there, but could not get the final touch needed to take the lead, and the match headed to overtime.

Both squads were able to create scoring chances in the 20 minutes of extra time, but neither team could beat the keeper, as the sides split the points.

The Beavers will head across the bay Sunday to take on No. 3/3 Stanford.