Oregon State Women's Soccer Preview: A Completely Different Defense Will Take the Field in 2026

Oregon State Women's Soccer takes the field for an exhibition match just over a month from now, with the 2026 season starting shortly afterwards. The Beavers will be looking to improve on a 2025 season that was, to be generous, a disappointment. Oregon State struggled to two wins last season, and one of those was against a Utah team that played with ten women on the field for half the game.

This year's Beavers will be different. Considering their struggles last season, that could be a good thing, but a lot of players the Beavers relied on have graduated or left the team. So what moves have the Beavers made in the offseason to address those concerns? We'll start our previews today with a look at the defensive side of the field.

The biggest name to replace is arguably goalkeeper Mya Sanchez, one of the most lauded Beavers of the past few seasons. She was a two time All-WCC Honorable Mention and won three WCC Defensive Player of the Week awards during her time as a Beaver. She started every game of the past two seasons.

The Beavers currently have four goalkeepers on the roster. Three of them were on the roster last season, Seniors Taylor Hannah and Alexi Morgan and junior Sammy Martinez, but the Beavers added Colorado State transfer Libby Brooker in the off season. Brooker started in eleven games for the Rams in 2024, but lost the starting job in 2025. Her starting experience may make her the favorite for the job, but this is something that will be worked out in training camp.

While Sanchez was solid in goal, Oregon State led the West Coast Conference in Goals Allowed last season. Sanchez was second in the conference in saves with 101, but was regularly shelled by opposing offenses in games. The defense is going to need to step up in a big way to help whoever is in net next season.

There will be one familiar face among the Beaver defenders next season, sophomore Abbi Leonard, who started in seven games last season, but other than her Oregon State's defender group will be entirely new, with several experienced transfers coming to Corvallis.

Senior Evee Stoddard comes to Oregon State by way of Peninsula College, where she helped the Pirates win the Northwest Athletic Conference championship in 2024. Juniors Taylor Ayres,Jane Brooks and Isabella Marquart have also joined the team, with Ayres last playing for Stetson, Brooks for Northern Arizona and Marquart for Bellevue College.

It's a group with a decent amount of experience, but none of these players have ever played together before. Oregon State's defense is going to be a project. It's not likely to be a productive unit at the start of the season, but by the time the new Pac-12 gets started in October we should have some idea of this group's potential.

That's all for today, check back tomorrow for a preview of the other half of this year's Women's Soccer team.

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