Nickerson Scores, Beavers Fall to Wildcats
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Nicole Nickerson scored her first goal of the season, but the Oregon State women's soccer team fell to Arizona 3-1 Friday evening at Lorenz Field in Corvallis, Ore.
"Arizona took it to us in the first 10 minutes, and we couldn't recover," said Oregon State head coach Matt Kagan. "I'm disappointed with how we started the game and dug ourselves a hole. Teams in this conference make you pay for those types of lapses and that's what happened tonight. We need to bounce back on Sunday."
Nickerson found the net in the 50th, heading home a Kaillen Fried free kick. Overall, Oregon State held a 14-10 advantage on shots in the contest.
Amber Jackson was on the end of the Beavers' first scoring chance of the evening, as she forced a save from a tight angle in the 7th minute.
Arizona took the lead in the 10th when the Wildcats headed a corner kick into the net. They added another on a penalty kick less than four minutes later.
The Beavers nearly pulled one back in the 27th, as Jackson again got in on goal down the left side, but the Wildcat keeper reacted quickly to silence the threat. Arizona went to the break in front 2-0.
Oregon State got on the scoresheet early in the 2nd half, as Nickerson found the net on a header following a free kick from Fried. Arizona restored its two-goal advantage in the 56th minute.
The Beavers nearly got back within one again in the 67th, when McKenzie Weinert rattled the woodwork with a curling effort off the crossbar. Oregon State followed that up with a flurry of activity in the Arizona penalty area, but could not convert.
The Wildcats were reduced to ten players on an 81st minute red card. Brianna McReynolds narrowly missed on back-to-back shot attempts with just over five minutes to go. Oregon State continued to press forward from there, but Arizona was able to take the win by two goals.
Oregon State will be back in action Sunday when the Beavers host Arizona State. That game will start at 12 p.m. and will air live on Pac-12 Networks.
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