What you need to know about Bearcat fall sports

Blitz ingests some sports updates from The Collegian. Photo by Skeet Starr.

Hello, Bearcats. Feeling behind? Good. Fall sports have already begun. Please, memorize the following document. It will be brought up later.

Last fall, the habitually beleaguered football team saw an excess of coaching turnover. Following a precious and narrow pre-season victory over LaVerne, then head coach Isaac Parker (‘02) departed from Willamette for reasons yet undisclosed by either himself or the university. He was thus temporarily replaced by defensive coordinator Tim Rude, who continued the Bearcat’s proud five-season tradition of not winning a single game in conference play. 

In the spring, Aric Williams, a one-time OSU Beaver and Philadelphia Eagle, took the helm; immediately implementing some unorthodox recruiting strategies. If he manages to guide the ‘Cats to a win this fall, consider his statue already built. The football team plays at McCulloch on Saturdays. 

In 2022, men’s soccer earned their first outright conference championship. Last fall, however, they crumbled to a dreary fourth-place finish. In the dying minutes of their season’s final game, the clouds pummeled them and a bland but victorious Pacific side with slugging raindrops. Following the season, former head coach Sam Adelman announced his departure, planning to follow his fiancée to Boston. 

A highly contested replacement hiring process saw the instatement of Matthew Corti-Young, an assistant coach from UC San Diego. Corti-Young says he hopes to bring a non-dogmatic array of perspectives to the job. Further reporting on his progress will occur as soon as we find out what dogmatic means! 

Badly injured throughout the season, women’s soccer earned only two wins in ‘23, their fewest since at least Northwest Conference incorporation in 2006. They did however come back from 1-2 down to defeat University of Puget Sound away, the first victory of its kind since 2018. Their victory was woefully underreported by The Collegian at the time, but will remain a sole, bright memory as they try to claw their way back this fall. Both soccer teams play at Sparks on Fridays, Wednesdays or on weekends. 

The triathlon team is a lot like that annoying high school friend who got into an Ivy League school: you never hear from them, but their success is omnipresent. Although only three years old as a program, triathlon has sent athletes to nattys all three seasons. Head coach Brett-Franz had a monster off-season, growing the squad from eight members to twelve. They are also overwhelmingly young, featuring nine underclassmen. However, this fall they are notably lacking last year’s standout prospect, Riga Grubis. 

Few would say that the cross country teams are outright disappointing, but they also haven’t left ‘Cats fans with much to be jazzed about over the last two seasons. Jay Chew (‘26), Will Hennum (‘25) and Zoe Heino (‘26) are the heaviest hitters. If you see them on campus it’s customary to nod respectfully. 

Last but certainly not least, volleyball remains a wildcard. After six consecutive non-winning seasons, the ‘Cats have snaked their way into +.500 territory over the last two. In ‘23 they earned a conference tournament berth but were brushed aside by an undefeated PLU. This year they are without either of their second-team all-conference standouts Shyla Sato (‘24) or Emma Porter (‘24). They will test their recruiting class on Tuesdays, Fridays or Saturdays at Cone Field House through November. 

More uni athletics updates are released online every week in the “Fast Break Sports Report.” Sports and Rec also covers clubs, community events and whatever counts as recreation.