Oregon State Women's Soccer Preview: Looking for Improvement From the Midfielders in 2024
Today we're continuing our look at the 2024 Oregon State Women's Soccer Team. The Beavers will return a group of midfielders with a lot of experience, but after a season where they went 4-8-7 there's a lot of improvement to be made all over the field. Here are some players to keep an eye on this season.
The biggest name returning for the Beavers is Valerie Tobias. This will be Tobias's fifth season as a Beaver, and last year she was second on the team in points, with 2 goals and 2 assists. Tobias has a great eye for finding a way to feed the ball to an open shooter. Her best game last season was in a 2-0 win over UC San Diego, where had a goal and an assist. Check out how she delivers the ball to Maddie Tetz here.
RELATED: West Coast Conference Women's Soccer Preview 2024
44' | GOOOOOAAALLLL!
— Oregon State Women's Soccer (@BeaverWSoccer) August 24, 2023
Maddie Tetz finds the back of the net for the Beavs! #GoBeavs | #BEAVUP pic.twitter.com/XTYCp59bvm
There are several other Beavers who will be back in OSU's midfield this season. Sawyer Service returns as a full-time starter for her Senior year, after a season where she managed 15 shots but never found the back of the net.
Aidan Brown is another player who should see more action in 2024. She picked up 5 starts last season and made 4 shots.
Other veterans returning include Rin Choi, Claire Jones and Kendra McDaniel. Jones has the most experience, starting in 6 games last season, but Choi made the most of her limited time. She and Valerie Tobias assisted Maddie Tetz for a goal against UC San Diego.
One of the most intriguing names to watch will be Mia Erba. As a Freshman last season, Erba started in 11 games and picked up an assist against Colorado. Erba has already demonstrated a great feel for both the offensive and defensive sides of the game, and with another year to gel with her teammates should be a force this season.
Ultimately, this is a group with a lot of experience that hasn't hasn't achieved their full-potential just yet. With another year of experience and a new environment, there's potential for several players to make a name for themselves. It will be one of the most interesting groups to watch this fall under new interim head coach Caroline Kelly.
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.