Oregon State Men's Soccer Preview: Some of the Beavers' Biggest Names are Back on Defense
Last season, the Oregon State men's soccer team had a defense that was very good, if maybe not-quite elite. A pair of shutouts against Portland and North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament propelled the team into the Final Four, and while some key replacements need to be made, the core of the defense is returning, which is great for the Beavers.
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The biggest returning name is Fran Cortijo. Cortijo has a tremendous amount of game sense, wiith his ability to find the open man at the perfect time giving him 8 assists in 2023, the most on the Beavers. He also picked up a pair of goals himself, including the game winner against Seattle in the NCAA Tournament.
Beautiful pass.
— Oregon State Men's Soccer (@BeaverMSoccer) November 17, 2023
Savvy leave.
Perfect finish. #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/92fJTeRBUX
Cortijo will be joined by a few other OSU veterans. Andrew De Gannes and Nicklas Lund were both key players on the defense last season. While they didn't provide the stat line that Cortijo did, they were able to stifle attackers in the backfield. And that's not to say they were ineffective offensively - each player finished 2023 with one goal each.
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The Beavers will also be backed up by one of their deepest signing classes at the defensive position. Shugai Kallisa will be a big name to watch for Beaver fans. He's already found success in the Ugandan junior system, and has a balanced game that should see him able to contribute offensively and defensively.
Kallisa isn't the only new name to look out for in the Beaver backfield. Pol Morlans, out of Barcelona, has experience in the Club Europa's reserve team. Massimo Meneses was a standout at the Barcelona Residency Academy, and comes from an ASU Prep program that has become something of a pipeline for Oregon State.
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One of the biggest holes the Beavers will need to fill on their roster is Goalkeeper. Last season Luis Castillo was phenomenal in goal, with a 1.11 GAA and 6 shutouts. but he and backup Jesus Sanchez are both gone.
Luckily for the Beavers, they landed a pretty good goalie in the transfer portal. Gandhi Cruz comes to Corvallis from DePaul, where he was All-Big East Third Team twice in his career. John Nicholson, a freshman who has experience in the San Jose Earthquakes system, could also see some time in net for Oregon State.
If the Beavers are able to match Castillo's contribution, the Beaver defense could be in a great position to take a step forward in 2024. Oregon State was already fairly tough to score on, but the new names joining the team could take the Beavers to the next level
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.