Lakeridge girls soccer opens Three Rivers League play Thursday, Oct. 1, hosting Tualatin at 7 p.m. with a 4-3-1 record built against some of the state's best programs.

The Pacers, ranked No. 9 in the OSAA Class 6A standings, spent the preseason facing four teams ranked in the top five of the Sept. 21 coaches polls. That gauntlet included No. 2 Lincoln, No. 3 Central Catholic, No. 5 Sunset and 5A No. 4 La Salle Prep.

Lakeridge opened with a tie against La Salle Prep, then fell 1-2 to Lincoln on Sept. 10. The Pacers bounced back with a 2-0 win over Sunset on Sept. 14 and a 5-0 win over Beaverton on Sept. 16 before losing to Central Catholic on the road.

"This team has talent. We are young, but they've got some fight in them," coach Adrian Nixt told the Lake Oswego Review.

Nixt, who guided the Pacers to the 6A quarterfinals in 2025, said the difficult preseason schedule prepared the team for league play and a playoff push. Lakeridge finished 13-5-0 last season and went 4-2 in the TRL before falling 5-2 to No. 4 Beaverton in the quarterfinals.

Returning firepower

Junior forward Lucy Tragesser leads the attack with eight goals through eight preseason games. She earned first-team all-TRL honors as a sophomore in 2025.

Sophomore forward and midfielder Sienna Frank has added five goals. Senior captain Kading Harvey anchors the midfield, and senior forward Juliet Lamb told the Review that the team is adjusting to a new formation heading into league play.

Lakeridge returns three more all-league selections from 2025: junior midfielder Ali Post, a first-team pick, and sophomore defenders Harper Ohr and Charlotte Lindsey, both honorable-mention selections. Senior goalkeeper Meredith Razey, senior forwards Lilo Baird-Gonzalez and Hailey Gonzalez, and sophomore defender Gabby Bachman round out the varsity returners.

Ohr showed what she can do on Sept. 22, when she sent a corner kick into the Sherwood box that deflected off a defender for the game-winning goal in a 5-0 Lakeridge victory.

League road ahead

The TRL figures to be a battle. West Linn won the league title in 2025, going 6-0 and reaching the 6A championship game before losing 4-1 to Jesuit. Lakeridge finished third.

Nixt told the Review the title race comes down to which team wants it most. Tragesser put it more bluntly: "That's why we wanted such a hard preseason schedule, so that when we get to league … we're just going to win it all."

After Thursday's opener against Tualatin, the Pacers travel to St. Mary's Academy on Oct. 6 and to Oregon City on Oct. 8. Lakeridge then hosts Jesuit on Oct. 12, Tigard on Oct. 15, Lake Oswego on Oct. 20 and West Linn on Oct. 22.