Oregon State Women's Soccer Recap: Beavers Pick Up Huge Win Over Santa Clara, Fall to Washington State
It was another up and down week for the Oregon State Women's Soccer team. The Beavers pulled off their biggest win of the season last Saturday, taking down the 11th ranked Santa Clara Broncos 2-1. But Oregon State couldn't maintain that momentum, and on Wednesday they fell to Washington State 1-0, dropping their record to 7-8-2 overall and 5-2-2 in the West Coast Conference.
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The Broncos took the lead early Saturday night, with Kat Jordan picking up a goal in the 17th minute. Despite getting out shot 9-4 in the first half, it didn't take long for the Beavers to even the game up. In the 27th minute Carly Carraher baited Santa Clara goalie Marlee Nicolos with a tricky pass that looked like it was curving toward the goal. The pass found Katie Godden, who was in perfect position to get the ball past Nicolos and just inside the left post.
27' | SENIOR TO SENIOR AND WE'RE LEVEL!
— Oregon State Women's Soccer (@BeaverWSoccer) November 2, 2024
Carly Carraher -> Katie Godden -> Back of the net 🙌#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/1D1ZWfEjpc
If the first half leaned toward Santa Clara, the second half was dominated by them. The Broncos out shot the Beavers 20-3. Oregon State got very few chances at the Santa Clara goal, but they would only need one.
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In the 68th minute Marlee Nicolos came way out of the net to control the ball, but deflected the ball which ended up going right to Paola Figueroa. Figueroa had a wide open net, and she made the most of it, giving the Beavers a 2-1 lead.
68' | BEAVS LEAD OVER THE #11 BRONCOS!
— Oregon State Women's Soccer (@BeaverWSoccer) November 2, 2024
Paola Figueroa capitalizes off the mistake and your Beavers lead 2-1!#GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/0JuSmhAhBH
Santa Clara had plenty of time to tie the game, but the Beavers got a heroic game out of goalkeeper Mya Sanchez to keep the Beaver lead alive. Sanchez had 9 saves Saturday, and that performance found her named the West Coast Conference's Defensive Player of the Week the second time this season.
Unfortunately the Beavers couldn't bring the same level of energy to Wednesday's game against Washington State. Much of that was down an amazing game from goalkeeper Nadia Cooper and the Cougar defense, but for much of Wednesday's game it felt like Wazzu was setting the pace.
The lone goal of the night came in the 36th minute, with Rajanah Reed setting up Julianna Duckett for the score. Once again the Beavers were heavily outshot in the second half, this time 11-2, but with Oregon State playing from behind the situation was dire. The Beavers went nearly all of the final 30 minutes of the game without a shot on goal. Washington State just wouldn't let them close to the net.
The Beavers have one final game left this season. Tomorrow night Oregon State will travel up the road to Portland to face the Pilots. Portland is currently 3-3-3 in the WCC. While it may be too late for OSU to make a case for post season play, the Beavers can still finish the season strong.
Having grown up in Pocatello, home of the Idaho State Bengals, John Severs is a lifelong fan of small schools that don't always deliver a lot of wins. Prior to writing for Sports Illustrated, John covered the Beavers for SB Nation's Oregon State blog Building the Dam, with a focus on baseball and women's basketball. When he's not watching college sports he spends most of his time reading, playing video games and annoying cats.