WCC Men's Soccer Preview 2024: Oregon State's New Competition

John Severs | Jul 12, 2024

March 3, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco Lady Dons mascot performs against the San Diego Toreros during the first half of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Oregon State Men's Soccer Program pulled off one of their most exciting seasons ever in 2023, with a solid regular season paving the way for an amazing run to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. But with the demise of the Pac-12 the Beavers will have new stomping grounds in 2024. Here's a quick look at the teams they'll be competing with this season.

San Diego Toreros

Where They Play: Torero Stadium - San Diego, California
Head Coach: Brian Quinn (6th Season)
2023 Record: 11-4-4 Overall, 5-1-1 in WCC Play. 16 Points, T-1st in WCC
2023 Scoring: 31 Goals For, 18 Goals Against
2023 Top Scorer: Mason Tunbridge, 7 Goals
History with Oregon State: Toreros Lead 3-1
Last Match vs Oregon State: August 31st, 2003; 2-1 Oregon State Win

Last season the Toreros won the West Coast Conference for the second season in a row behind WCC Offensive Player of the Year Mason Tunbridge and All-WCC First Team Defender Trevor Dillon. Unfortunately San Diego's postseason ended early, as the Toreros lost their first round game to California Baptist in a heartbreaker that came down to penalty kicks. If they want to get back to the postseason, they're going to have to do it without a lot of big names. Tunbridge has gone pro, and the Toreros also lost Ross Johnstone, Rhys Gourdie and Kienan Wilkinson to the transfer portal. The Toreros should still be strong in 2024, but not quite as strong as last season.

Santa Clara Broncos

Where They Play: Stevens Stadium - Buck Shaw Field; Santa Clara, California
Head Coach: Cameron Rast (23rd Season)
2023 Record: 7-7-3 Overall, 5-1-1 in WCC Play. 16 Points, T-1st in WCC
2023 Scoring: 23 Goals For, 24 Goals Against
2023 Top Scorer: Adem Hamdaoua, 6 Goals
History with Oregon State: Broncos Lead 2-1-1
Last Match vs Oregon State: September 4th, 2023; 3-1 Oregon State Win

Despite good performances in their conference games, Santa Clara struggled out of season and that ultimately cost them a trip to the NCAA Tournament, as they were passed over by the NCAA committee while Portland and LMU were given at-large bids. That's still an impressive turn around from the year before, with freshmen Midfielders Jack Civitts and Martin Kwende Jr. With another year of experience they should help improve the Broncos scoring, and All-WCC First Team Goalkeeper Jack Stoecker should deliver Santa Clara some wins in close games.

Portland Pilots

Where They Play: Merlo Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex; Portland, Oregon
Head Coach: Nick Carlin-Voigt (9th Season)
2023 Record: 12-5 Overall, 5-2 in WCC Play. 15 Points, 3rd in WCC
2023 Scoring: 45 Goals For, 15 Goals Against
2023: Top Scorer: Jacob Babalai, 12 Goals
History with Oregon State: Pilots Lead 26-7-0
Last Match vs Oregon State: November 19th, 2023; 3-0 Oregon State Win (NCAA Tournament First Round)

The Pilots were arguably the best team in the WCC last year. Despite falling short of a WCC Championship, the Pilots finished the season with 12 wins and entered the postseason ranked 11th in the nation. Unfortunately for Portland, they ran into Oregon State, who were about to go on an amazing run through the NCAA Tournament, starting with a 3-0 upset of the Pilots on their home pitch. This year's Pilots return a lot of that team, including Midfielder of the Year Nick Fernandez, but added some big names in the transfer portal. Former Michigan Wolverine Alex Waggoner is a big name to watch out for, as he should give the Pilots a lot more scoring power.

Saint Mary's Gaels

Where They Play: Saint Mary's Stadium; Moraga, California
Head Coach: Adam Cooper (19th Season)
2023 Record: 8-7-2 Overall, 3-4 in WCC Play. 9 Points, 4th in WCC
2023 Scoring: 27 Goals For, 29 Goals Against
2023 Top Scorer: Riley Lynch, 8 Goals
History with Oregon State: Series Tied 4-4
Last Match vs Oregon State: October 15th, 2021; 4-0 Oregon State Win

Saint Mary's is a team that feels like they've been treading water for the last few seasons. They're a solid unit, but they've been hovering just above .500 for awhile and don't feel like they're ready to make a jump into contention. They've also lost their top offensive threat in Forward Riley Lynch, who was picked up by San Jose in the MLS Draft, and goals were already difficult to come by for the Gaels.

LMU Lions

Where They Play: Sullivan Field; Los Angeles, California
Head Coach: Kyle Schmid (3rd Season)
2023 Record: 10-5-6 Overall, 2-3-2 in WCC Play. 8 Points, T-5th in WCC
2023 Scoring: 26 Goals For, 21 Goals Against
2023 Top Scorer: Tyger Smalls, 7 Goals
History with Oregon State: Beavers Lead 3-2-1
Last Match vs Oregon State: September 24th, 2023; 2-0 LMU Win

Despite a mediocre showing in conference play, Loyola Marymount's success out of conference carried them to an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, and from there the Lions went on a run that brought them to quarterfinals. That season might be hard for LMU to replicate; while the Lions return most of their team the WCC is about to become even more competitive, and LMU's victory margins were already razor thin.

San Francisco Dons

Where They Play: Negoesco Stadium; San Francisco, California
Head Coach: Chris Brown (4th Season)
2023 Record: 8-4-5 Overall, 2-3-2 in WCC Play. 8 Points, T-5th in WCC
2023 Scoring: 20 Goals For, 16 Goals Against
2023 Top Scorer: Gabriel Serra Bracken, 6 Goals
History with Oregon State: Series Tied 1-1
Last Match vs Oregon State: September 9th, 2001, 1-0 San Francisco Win

San Francisco has a history unlike any other team in the WCC, with four NCAA Championships (and a fifth that was vacated) and many deep tournament runs. However, its been awhile since the Dons have been competitive at that level, with their most recent trip to the NCAA Tournament coming in 2017. This year's Dons will have a stingy defense buoyed by last year's Goalkeeper of the Year Eric Waltz, but their ability to generate scoring will need to take a big step forward, as San Francisco lagged behind the rest of the conference in 2023.

Pacific Tigers

Where They Play: Knoles Field; Stockton, California
Head Coach: Adam Reeves (6th Season)
2023 Record: 5-8-4 Overall,, 1-5-1 in WCC Play. 4 Points, T-7th in WCC
2023 Scoring: 22 Goals For, 32 Goals Against
2023 Top Scorer: Derick Roque, 9 Goals
History with Oregon State: Beavers Lead 2-0
Last Match vs Oregon State: September 9th, 2019; 2-0 Oregon State Win

Pacific is a team that struggled to score goals last season. With the departure of Derick Roque (9 goals and 3 assists in 2023), who was responsible for over half of the Tigers goals, next season could be even rougher. The team also needs to get better on defense; despite not being heavily outshot Pacific's goalkeepers allowed the conference's second worst total.

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Where They Play: Luger Field; Spokane, Washington
Head Coach: Aaron Lewis (4th Season)
2023 Record: 3-9-6 Overall, 1-5-1 in WCC Play. 4 Points, T-7th in WCC
2023 Scoring: 22 Goals For, 35 Goals Against
2023 Top Scorer: Stefano Campisi, 5 Goals
HIstory with Oregon State: Beavers Lead 20-9-4
Last Match vs Oregon State: February 13th, 2021; 2-0 Oregon State Win

Like Pacific, Gonzaga is a team that has bottomed out, with not much in the way of scoring while allowing way too many goals; a worst in the conference 35, an average of nearly 2 per game. While rebuilding they have done a good job of landing transfer portal targets, including Pacific goalkeeper Brian Lanier, but this team still has a long road to go to be competitive.

That's the West Coast Conference. There will be some tough teams to compete with, but its definitely a conference that Oregon State should be able to compete in. We'll see when the conference schedule kicks off at Santa Clara on September 26th.

Published Jul 12, 2024

JOHN SEVERS

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.