Oregon State Women's Soccer vs Weber State: Game Preview

After fighting the Washington Huskies to a standstill in the season's opening game, the Oregon State women's soccer team will be back in Corvallis for their first home game of the season on Sunday. The Beavers welcome Weber State to town, so let's take a minute to learn about the Wildcats.

Last year the Wildcats were one of the worst teams in the Big Sky Conference, tying Idaho State at the bottom of the standings with a 1-6-1 conference record. Out of conference they weren't much better, with a 2-13-5 overall record.

The Big Sky coaches seem to think the Wildcats will be better this year. The preseason poll placed Weber State sixth in the standings, a slight improvement over last year's eighth place tie. So, one game into the season, have the Wildcats improved?

In their first game Weber State fell to Oregon 4-0. While that final score suggests Duck domination, Weber State actually put in a solid performance. They took 13 shots in that game, putting seven on goal. They made Oregon goalkeeper Caeley Goldstein work for that clean sheet.

The Wildcats offense was spearheaded by veteran forwards Saylor Schlosser and Grace Kirby-Hortin. Schlosser had three shots Thursday night, two of them on goal, while Kirby-Hortin finished with two total, and one on goal. Lily Blum also impressed as an attacking defender, with three shots, one of them on goal.

It's an aggressive team, but that aggressiveness comes at a cost. Oregon didn't just match the Wildcats pace, they exceeded it, with 17 total shots, 10 of them on goal. Weber State's defense and goalkeeper Maya Cordova just couldn't weather that level of attack, allowing four goals despite six saves from Cordova.

So Oregon State has two approaches they can take against Weber State. They could take the Oregon route and try to match the Wildcats' pace. Goalkeeper Mya Sanchez should be up to the challenge, especially after only allowing one goal against Washington. Carly Carraher and Nathalie Lewis should be able to generate enough offense to give the Beavers an edge.

The other option is to smother the Weber State attack. Don't let them move the ball upfield quickly, don't let them take a lot of shots. Slow the game down as much as you can. Oregon State managed to score against the Huskies despite a strong Washington defense, they should be able to find some openings against Weber State, so slowing the game down shouldn't hurt the Beavers chances.

We'll find out just what the game plan is tomorrow. Kick off is set for 12 PM PT. The game will be aired on ESPN+.

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