The Oregon State University women’s soccer team fell to the Oregon Ducks 3-1 in a season-opening exhibition match at Paul Lorenz Field in Corvallis on Tuesday.
The game marked the first of the season for both teams.
The Beavers controlled the ball early, with forward Carly Carraher recording two shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. Oregon State goalkeeper Mya Sanchez also managed two early saves, but it was the in-state rival Ducks who got on the scoreboard first with a shot from sixth-year forward Taylor Bryan.
Carraher appeared to respond around 19 minutes into the first half with a goal, but it was eventually overturned after review. The Ducks kept their 1-0 lead.
Neither team scored again until just two minutes were left in the first half, when the ball slipped from a scrum of players into the Oregon State net.
“It was a (Beavers) own goal,” Ducks first-year head coach Tracy Joyner said after the game. “We’ll take it. Doesn’t have to look pretty as long as it goes in the net.”
Entering the second half down 2-0, the Beavers got off to a strong start, repeatedly pushing the ball on their opponents’ side of the field to start the action.
At 51 minutes, Beaver freshman midfielder Alyssa White scored on an assist from freshman midfielder Avery Pleiman. The ball sped into the right side of the net, just outside the outstretched arms of diving Oregon goalkeeper Gia Kiesling.
“It was awesome,” White said of her goal after the game. “I think it was like a culmination of all of us coming together. … it felt really good when the ball went in; to know that we got some momentum after that, and to see everybody excited. And I think it set the tone for the season.”
However, 13 minutes later the Ducks scored for a third time on a breakaway from forward Addisen Boyer. The new score, 3-1, would last through the end of the game.
“I thought we played really well,” OSU head coach Caroline Kelly said following the match. “We possessed the ball. We were playing our style. We settled into the game, and we found our rhythm on the ball. And we started to find moments in the attacking third which I thought was really important.”
Despite scoring just one goal on the day, the Beavers’ 13 shots on goal were one more than the Ducks’ total. Oregon’s goalkeepers recorded only two saves; the Beaver offense kept missing the target.
“Plain and simple, gotta hit them on frame,” Kelly said.
Because it was an exhibition, Tuesday’s match didn’t count towards either team’s win-loss total for the upcoming season. Both coaches said they used the opportunity to play more of their roster than usual.
Kelly said she didn’t know if she’ll start the same 11 players for the Beavers’ regular season opener at the University of Washington on Aug. 14.
However, Kelly and Joyner agreed that keeping the Beavers-Ducks rivalry alive – even if the final score doesn’t count – is important.
“We should be playing every team in the state of Oregon pretty consistently,” Kelly said. “We obviously know players on (the Ducks). … It’s always a good opportunity to play a rival and always be there no matter what conference anybody’s in.”
The Pac-12 lost 10 conference members from 2022-23. As a result, the Beavers’ soccer programs now compete in the West Coast Conference, where the women placed sixth out of 11 teams in 2024 (5-3-2 in conference, 7-9-2 overall).
Oregon women’s soccer (the Ducks don’t have a men’s varsity team) is part of the Big Ten.
Despite the different conferences, Joyner said she doesn’t see the rivalry matchup disappearing anytime soon: “I think we will play each other every single year, as we should. I mean, no-brainer, right?”
You can view the Oregon State women’s soccer team’s upcoming 2025 schedule here.
