Oregon State Men's Soccer vs UC Santa Barbara: Game Preview

Oregon State Men's Soccer kicks off their 2025 season tomorrow, and the Beavers have scheduled an interesting opponent for their first match of the year. That would be the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, who upset UCLA in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Last year UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly battled all season for the Big West crown, and while the Mustangs prevailed in the conference tournament, this year the coaches seem to favor the Gauchos, UCSB finished just ahead of Cal Poly in the preseason voting, picking up 73 points to the Mustangs 71, with each team getting three first place votes.

The Gauchos do have some big names to replace. The biggest is Manu Duah, the freshmen midfielder who was just the first pick in the MLS Superdraft. Last year's Big West Offensive Player of the Year, forward Alexis Ledoux, is also gone, having graduated and now playing for FC Tucson.

There is a lot of returning talent on UC Santa Barbara however. The forward group has Isaiah Barber, Zac Siebenlist and Nicolas Willumsen returning. Though not a full time starter, Willumsen was the team's second leading goal scorer behind Ledoux in 2024, with six goals and two assists. Siebenlist and three goals and one assist, and Barber two goals and two assists. None were full time starters last year, but all should be in 2025, and with more time on the field to develop this is going to be a very dangerous, very fast group of players.

They'll be backed up by a strong, veteran defense anchored by the Gauchos best returning player, defender Calle Mollerberg. Mollerberg was on last year's All Big West Second Team, and this year made the conference's preseason list, along with being named a Defender to Watch by the United Soccer Coaches.

Mollerberg will be joined by another returning full time starter in Drew Kamienski. Peleg Brown, who was on last year's Big West All Freshman team, should also have a much larger role. Defense will absolutely be a team strength for UCSB, but goal tending may be an issue.

The team has three goalkeepers on the roster, but all of them are new to the program. Dylan Hotaling and Owen Beninga are freshmen, and Luke Skinner is a graduate transfer from Loughborough University in England. Skinner's experience should make him the favorite for the starting job, but there may be a period of adjustment.

Santa Barbara's game plan should be pretty simple. Shut down the Beavers whenever they get near the goal with their veteran defense, and then use their speed to get in an attacking position before the Oregon State defense can get set.

The Beavers, on the other hand, aren't going to have to rely on speed as much, since their attack is going to come from the midfield. UCSB has some good midfielders, but they don't have Arnau Farnos and Fabian Straudi, and those two can shoot.

These are two fairly similar squads and should be evenly matched, and both have high expectations for 2025. We'll see which one can start the season with a win tomorrow, with kick off set for 7 PM PT.