Oregon State Women's Soccer: Taking a Look at 2025's Forwards

The start of the soccer season is weeks away, so it's time to take a look at next year's Oregon STate women's team. After a sixth place finish in the West Coast Conference last year, there's room for improvement from the Beavers, but they'll have to replace a few big names. Up first in our series of previews is this year's forwards.

Last year's forward group contained the biggest name the Beavers will have to replace, with last year's leading goal scorer McKenna Martinez graduating. The Beavers usually ran a two forward lineup though, and Oregon State's other top forward will be returning for a graduate season.

That would be Carly Carraher, who finished the 2024 campaign with 3 goals and 2 assists. With the departure of Martinez and midfielder Valerie Tobias, Carraher is the Beavers best returning goal scorer, and will probably be asked to shoulder much of the offense as the season gets started.

Who she takes the field with will be a contest sorted out in training camp, but there's a few names that jump out. The first is Lindsey Antonson. In 2023 Antonson saw the field quite a bit as a sophomore, starting in 8 games and scoring her first goal as a Beaver, but an injury robbed her of the entire 2024 season. If she's at 100% headed into 2025, she should be able to take on a big role.

The other name to watch out for is Nathalie Lewis. Lewis joins the Beavers after spending the last couple seasons with Washington State. She picked up her first start and her first goal as a Cougar last season. She made the decision to take her talents to Corvallis during the off season, and should compete for a large role on the team.

Those are the big three forwards on the Beavers roster, but there are a few more names to keep an eye on. Oregon State has one freshman forward on the roster, Avery Pleiman. Pleiman probably won't see a ton of action in her first season, but she should probably see the field a few times. Finally, Ari Hill made a few appearances as a defender last season, but she also has some experience as a forward, and Oregon State could use her there if needed.

Assuming the team maintains a similar formation as last season, we can expect to see 2 forward lineups with Carraher and one of either Antonson or Lewis, and 3 forward lineups with all three, subbing in Hill or Pleiman as needed.

Up next we'll take a look at this year's group of midfielders.