Oregon State Women's Soccer Preview: Beavers Take On Lipscomb Early Sunday Morning

After being shut out 2-0 in their season opener against South Carolina, Oregon State Women's Soccer is still looking for their first win, and first goal, of the season. The Beavers are still on the road in the south, and Sunday morning they'll be in Nashville to face to the Lipscomb Bisons.

Before we get to the Bisons, a note about the game itself. The game was originally scheduled for 10 AM Pacific time, noon local time, but due to the ongoing heat wave in Tennessee the game has been moved to 8 AM Pacific, 10 AM local time. It's still projected to be hot and humid, but should be more bearable.

Lipscomb itself is going through a changing of the guard. The Bisons had been coached by Kevin O'Brien since the 2012 season, and he managed to turn Lipscomb into a regular contender in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The bisons won five conference championships under O'Brien and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament twice during his tenure.

Following the 2025 season O'Brien took the head coaching job at Mississippi State, and Lipscomb hired Kathleen Paulsen to take the reigns. Paulsen had coached for John Brown University for the last 13 seasons, turning them into a national contender in the NAIA.

The team predictably lost a lot of talent to graduations and the coaching change, but there's a strong young core here. The Bisons were to finish second in the ASUN in the conference's preseason poll, but received the most first place votes. There's optimism at Lipscomb even with the coaching change.

The Bisons took down Arkansas State 1-0 in their season opener. One game isn't a strong sample size, but we did get some sense of the team's identity. Midfielders Tatum Ahlemeyer and Katie Stefanovski set the pace for Lipscomb's attack, notching three shots a piece, with Ahlemayer scoring the game's lone goal.

Freshman forward Haylee Dean was also a major part of Lipscomb's offense, with four shots in the game, though none on target. She also contributed an assist on Ahlemayer's goal. An impressive debut in her first game as a Bison.

Lipscomb dominated time of possession early in the game, keeping the ball near the Arkansas State goal for the first 10 minutes of the game. As the first half wore on the Red Wolves started to get more offensive chances, but after the hydration break, Lipscomb reasserted its attack and Ahlemayer scored her goal.

The second half played out similarly, but less dramatically. Lipscomb heavy at first, but Arkansas State finding opportunities as time wore on. The Red Wolves fought hard for a tying goal in the closing minutes but couldn't find it.

Based on a one game sample, , which is of course very dubious, it seems Oregon State's best chance at taking a win or draw would be to tire the Bisons out. The team plays hard when it's fresh, but gives up chances after getting wound down. If the Beavers can grind Lipscomb down they might have a chance in Nashville.

Once again, kick off is set for 8 AM Pacific, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. Get up early on Sunday and cheer on the Beavs.

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