Oregon State Women's Soccer: Beavers Picked to Finish Eighth in Preseason Poll

The West Coast Conference has released their preseason rankings, and the Beavers have found themselves near the bottom of the list. The voters have placed the Beavers eighth in the conference, a drop of two spots from their sixth place finish last season.

Santa Clara and Pepperdine finished one and two in the voters poll, just as they did last season. Santa Clara picked up 7 first place votes, while Pepperdine received 5. They were the only two teams to be picked in first. Gonzaga was right behind the Broncos and Waves in third, just as they were last season.

LMU was picked to finish in fourth by the voters. The Lions and Beavers finished the season tied in the standings, but LMU won the tiebreaker by virtue of a head to head victory. Washington State is next in fifth, falling one spot from their fourth place finish last season. Only a few Cougars return from last year's team.

Up next are the two teams that the experts think will jump the Beavers in the standings. That would be the Portland Pilots in sixth and the Saint Mary's Gaels in seventh. Then the Beavers in eight. Forward Carly Carraher and goalkeeper Mya Sanchez are back for Oregon State, but other those two it will be an almost entirely different team.

In ninth place comes Seattle, the WCC's newest member. The bottom of the list is San Diego in 10th, San Francisco in 11th and Pacific in 12th. Those three were at the bottom of the standings in 2024, with the Toreros and Dons winning only one conference game each, and the Tigers none.

The Beavers' season kicks off on August 14th. with a trip to Seattle to face Washington. The conference season starts just over a month later, with Oregon State traveling to Malibu to take on Pepperdine. We'll find out then if the Beavers can prove some doubters wrong.