CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State women’s soccer begins its final week of regular season play on Wednesday, heading up to Pullman, Wash., to match up against the Washington State Cougars.
Oregon State Beavers at Washington State
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 6Time: 7 p.m.Location: Lower Soccer Field – Pullman, Wash.Watch: ESPN+
SCOUTING THE COUGARS:
Washington State enters Wednesday’s game at 6-5-6, which includes a 3-2-3 conference record, though the Cougars are undefeated at home and posting a 4-0-3 record across seven home matches this season. WSU has momentum thanks to a 1-0 road victory over San Francisco, which came after a 1-1 draw against then-ranked No. 10 Santa Clara. Led by Kendall Campbell’s four goals, the Cougar attack has found the net 20 times, while defender Reese Tappan and goalkeeper Nadia Cooper both have played every single minute this season.
UPSET ALERT:
After conceding in the 17th minute, Oregon State battled back in its last game, defeating No. 11 Santa Clara, 2-1, at Paul Lorenz Field. Saturday’s victory over the 11th– ranked Broncos was the team’s first win over a ranked opponent since a 2-1 road win over No. 7 Stanford on Sept. 30, 2021. After playing then-ranked No. 20 Pepperdine to a 1-1 draw in previous game, Saturday’s win also marked the first time since the 2012 season that Beaver women’s soccer claimed points against a ranked opponent in consecutive games.
ANSWERED THE CALL:
Entering the game with 12 starts this season, Katie Godden began Saturday’s contest on the bench but was called upon just three minutes in due to an injury and responded in the best way possible: she scored a goal. Just 10 minutes after the Beaver concession, Godden got on the end of a Carly Carraher cross and headed the ball to the far post, scoring her second goal this season and leveling the game at one.
Playing her final game at Paul Lorenz Field, Godden never exited the game after entering, finishing with 87 minutes played, and is now up to seven points this season thanks to a pair of goals and three assists.
PUNISHING MISTAKES:
The game-winning goal came off the foot of Paola Figueroa after some heads-up play. An Aidan Brown run in behind the Bronco defense forced a clearance, but the SCU goalkeeper had come off her line and the clearance, a low ball towards the sideline, was played right to the feet of Figueroa, who hit it one-time from outside the box and found the net in the 68th minute.Already the team-leader in assists with four, Figueroa’s goal was her first as a Beaver and put an exclamation point on a tremendous junior season that has featured 14 starts across all 16 games. All six of her points this season have come during conference play.
POTW (x2):
For the second time this season, Oregon State goalkeeper Mya Sanchez was named Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Sanchez played a huge role in Saturday’s game against Santa Clara, making a career-best nine saves while stopping 90% of the shots she faced across 90 minutes played in an upset win over the 11th-ranked Broncos.
With the performance, Sanchez is up to a conference-leading 83 saves this season, while her average of 5.19 is also the top mark in the conference. Her season save percentage, 77.6, ranks third.
SCORING IS FUN:
Interim Head Coach Caroline Kelly’s first season as a head coach has seen improvements on both sides of the ball for Oregon State, especially within the attack. After scoring 16 goals in 2023 and converting 6.8% of the team’s 12.3 shots per game into goals, the Beavers have found the net 22 times this season at a conversion rate of 10.7% in 2024, with two games still to be played this regular season.
The improved offense equates to a 37.5% increase in goals scored.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS:
OSU has proven to be one of the best defenses in the conference down the stretch of the season. After struggling early in the year and conceding 15 goals in the first seven games, which included three games with three or more allowed, Oregon State has allowed just eight goals in its last eight games, which ranks third lowest in the conference.
Both of the Beavers’ last two opponents entered the game averaging over two goals per game and boasted the most potent attacks in the conference, but the Beaver defense has held both offenses to just one goal apiece; against Pepperdine, that came off a penalty kick.
TWO MORE TO GO:
Oregon State enters this week of play in a three-way tie for first place in the conference; OSU is level with Santa Clara and Pepperdine and now holds the tiebreaker over SCU after Saturday’s victory.
The regular season finale is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Portland.
OUR MISSION:Oregon State Athletics strives to Build Excellent Authentic Visionary Student-Athletes (Go BEAVS).
