In its last regular season road trip of the year, Stanford men’s soccer suffered back-to-back disappointments in the Northwest, falling to Oregon State and Washington this weekend. On Friday, the Cardinal (6-6-5, 3-4-2 Pacific-10) lost to the Beavers (8-10-1, 3-5-1) in a 1-0 decision. Stanford couldn’t rally against Washington (8-7-2, 3-4-1) either, losing 4-2.

The opening 45 minutes on Friday saw only six total shots posted by the teams, with the majority coming from Oregon State — the Beavers forced Stanford sophomore goalkeeper John Moore to save four attempts with four shots compared to the Cardinal’s two.

However, in the second period, the Beavers finally struck, landing the game’s first goal. Freshman Morgan Zeeno received a pass from junior Robby Christner in the 53rd minute, which he netted from 17 yards out for his first career goal. Stanford notched eight second-half shots, but Beaver goalie Packy Deenihan came up with three saves, and OSU did not relinquish its lead.

Head coach Bret Simon credited OSU’s relentless defense for its ability to frustrate Stanford throughout the match.

“OSU decided to pressure us all over the field, dumping balls in behind our defense and competing for everything,” Simon said. “That pressure took us out of any offensive rhythm. We did have a couple of clear chances in the first half, but weren’t able to convert.

“In the second half, we had three one-on-ones with the OSU goalkeeper and couldn’t score. We were able to develop better opportunities in the second half, but to no avail.”

The match against Washington was marked by a quicker offensive pace. The Huskies got out to an early lead, with freshman Ellis McLoughlin scoring in the 17th minute off a pass from senior Ely Allen. Allen found the net himself five minutes later on a penalty kick as Washington took a 2-0 advantage.

Stanford sophomore midfielder Michael Strickland noted the difficulty in playing from behind early in the game.

“[The Huskies’] goals put us back on our heels when we felt we had momentum,” Strickland said. “It was demoralizing to be asserting [ourselves] as a team and then to give up a goal.”

Finally, in the 33rd minute, the Cardinal put itself on the board when freshman defender Shaun Culver scored on an assist from classmate Daniel Leon, a forward. Washington still held a 2-1 lead at the break, even though Stanford outshot the Huskies 8-4 in the first period.

The second half of play was much the same — Allen scored again four minutes after play’s restart, and an assist from Washington redshirt senior Derek Crismier found freshman Matt Van Houten only six minutes later.

“We allowed ourselves to be vulnerable to Washington’s counter-attacking, and they really took advantage,” Simon said. “Ely Allen played a great game and is Washington’s catalyst. We simply couldn’t contain him on the day.”

Suddenly down 4-1, Stanford continued its offensive effort, attempting five shots in the second half, with little luck.

“In the Washington game we attacked quite well,” he said. “We had lots of chances to score, hitting the post early, missing a couple of great opportunities and having a goal called back in the second half.”

Finally, redshirt sophomore midfielder Alex Kozachenko pulled Stanford within two with a short-range shot at 79:26. Despite the weekend’s finish, and its implications for another postseason-less year, Strickland applauded his teammates’ offensive production.

“Sean and Alex scored two great goals,” he said. “Our offense is fairly well-rounded, and goals are likely to come from anywhere. In the Washington game, Alex and Shaun put away their chances very well when we needed it.... Although the results weren’t so great, I felt our [whole] team played well in spurts. Sadly, the game is a constant endeavor.”

Simon agreed that the matches were defined by streaks.

“We had an interesting weekend,” he observed. “We played quite well at times, but our opponents seemed to take advantage of every miscue.”

Stanford’s season finale will come at home against Cal at 7 p.m. on Saturday. After this past weekend’s action, a Cardinal victory now carries the weight of a winning season.