The UC Irvine men’s soccer team (0-0-1, 0-0-0 Big West) took a hard-fought 3-3 draw against No. 19 Oregon State Beavers (0-0-1, 0-0-0 Pac 12) in both teams’ non-conference and season openers on Aug. 20. The draw, which occurred at Anteater Stadium, comes after a 1-0 win in an exhibition game between the ‘Eaters and the UCLA Bruins at home on Aug. 11.
Both squads came into the game with overturned rosters, with UCI sporting 14 new players. Nevertheless, the squad remained anchored by acclaimed returnees: first team All-Big West senior defender Brady Treinen; All-Big West Honorable Mentions fifth-year midfielder Isaac Powell and junior goalkeeper Joe O’Shaughnessy; and Big West All-Freshman — now sophomore — defender Gustavo Gonzalez. By comparison, Oregon had 16 newcomers and only one returnee: sophomore midfielder Tim Hoffman.
Both teams look to build upon winning seasons from the year before, with the Anteaters and Beavers expected to finish near the top of their conferences. UCI is expected to finish second, repeating as a Big West tri-champion, while Oregon State was voted by coaches to finish as Pac-12 champions outright after a third-place West Coast Conference finish in 2025.
The game got started early when UCI senior forward Gage Lyons was fouled by senior defender Oriol Vidal in Oregon’s box, eliciting a penalty. In addition to being Irvine’s first real goal scoring opportunity of the season, it also marked the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to UC Irvine’s pitch. After a four minute review, the call on the field was confirmed and Lyons scored Irvine’s first goal of the 2026 season with a strong penalty shot to the center of the net.
Despite the thunderous start, the Beavers quickly recovered, dominating possession for the next 20 minutes. Oregon State quickly established superiority over set pieces, taking four corner kicks in the first half while UCI took none. Oregon’s avenues of attack during their spell of dominance came along the wings, with redshirt freshman Max Eisenberg distinguishing himself as a force along the left side. This control over the ball almost paid off when a lofted pass found the boot of senior forward Wyatt Borso. After a brilliant first touch, Borso stood alone on goal only to be denied by a full stretch save at point-blank range by O’Shaughnessy.
The Beavers didn’t stay down for long. After retaking possession from a careless pass from Anteater sophomore forward Zac Smuck, Oregon senior defender Jacob Zapien passed the ball to a barreling Eisenberg surging down the left-wing. Eisenberg found an angle after being held up by a defender, passing to junior forward Michael Nesci on the inside. A strong cross into the box reached sophomore midfielder Oliver Hernandez Parra who tapped the ball in at point blank range. The ‘Eaters found themselves tied 1-1 with the momentum on the Beaver’s side.
By the 25th minute, UCI began to turn the tide. Taking possession from a throw-in, the ‘Eaters patiently moved the ball around the back before springing it out wide. From there, senior midfielder Braden Ferreira worked a through-ball to Irvine’s dynamic junior forward Marcus Lee, who beat the defender and delivered a pinpoint cross into the box and head of junior defender Cristian Gallo. Catching the goalkeeper off-guard, his diving header scored Irvine’s second goal of the game, once more taking the lead and flipping the match on its head.
Despite Oregon being solidly on the backfoot, their attack continued to strain Irvine’s defense. In particular, Eisenberg continued to serve as both a creative outlet and conduit, getting into the box in the 32nd minute and putting a shot on target that was ultimately deflected. The match, already physical and replete with fouls, saw its first card issued to Irvine’s Ferreira at the 35 minute mark, who earned a yellow card.
The relative stalemate continued until the 42nd minute when UCI’s junior midfielder Isaiahs Gutierrez bore down on goal, only to be blatantly fouled by the last man in Oregon’s defense. The defender, Zapien, was shown a red card outright. The decision was confirmed after a courtesy consultation with VAR and the Beavers were down to ten men. OSU head coach Jarred Brookins, unwilling to weaken his offense or four-man backline, instead chose to weaken his midfield, a fortuitous decision.
In the 46th minute, after earning a corner — Oregon State’s fifth of the game — Nesci delivered a floating header to the back-post, finding the waiting head of freshman defender Gavin Wolff who put it past O’Shaughnessy. Now tied, OSU fell into a defensive posture, rarely venturing out of their own half as UCI dominated possession, shots taken and shots on goal. Whereas the ‘Eaters didn’t take a single corner kick in the first half, in the second they took eight. Additionally, while Irvine was out-shot in the first half 9-5, their potent forward line peppered Oregon and outshot them 19-6 in the second.
This all-out offensive effort finally paid off in the 65th minute, when a shot in the box from Anteater junior forward Shane Kaemerle miraculously bounced off the OSU crossbar and landed right into the boots of Powell. The Big-West Honorable Mention rocketed a shot to the bottom left of the goal, beating Oregon’s junior goalkeeper John Nicolson and putting UCI ahead for the final time.
Oregon’s game-tying goal began with Nicholson, as he launched the ball forward in the 75th minute. Set to touch down just outside UCI’s box, a foul was drawn by Oregon’s junior forward Paul Fecteau right outside UCI’s box. Eisenberg — who was subbed out in the first half but subbed back in at half-time — stepped up to take the free kick, burying it into the top left corner of the goal. Despite being offensively dominated for in excess of 30 minutes, Oregon snatched a draw.
Their defense proceeded incredibly conservatively for the rest of the game as the Anteaters desperately hammered away at the ten-man defense standing in front of them. None of their efforts availed a goal, and the Anteaters’ season opener ended with an exhilarating 3-3 result.
The Anteaters’ next match is against the Loyola Marymount Lions in a non-conference showdown at Anteater Stadium on Aug. 24.
Stanley Shi is a Sports Staff Writer for the summer 2026 quarter. He can be reached at szshi@uci.edu.
Edited by Benjamin Flores and Geneses Navarro.
Stanley is a second-year Global Studies and History double major. He began as a sports intern in the Spring 2026 quarter. Stanley is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and enjoys watching both baseball and ice hockey. In his free time he also reads non-fiction.