SAN BRUNO, Calif. — San Diego forward
Amanda Anders has been named to the 2026 West Coast Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Team, the league announced on Wednesday morning. Anders was the lone Torero selected, and the first USD player picked to the preseason team since Milan Moses in 2019.
The recognition follows a freshman season in which Anders emerged as one of the WCC's most dangerous attacking threats. In 17 games, she scored six goals — the ninth-best mark in the conference — and added two assists for eight points.
Anders' debut was as memorable as any in recent program history. She came off the bench in her first collegiate match, a 3-3 draw with Cal Poly on August 14, and scored twice, including the tying goal with eight minutes left — becoming the first Torero freshman in 12 years to record a brace in her debut. It earned her the first of two WCC Offensive Player of the Week honors on the season, making her the first Torero ever to win the award since it split into offensive and defensive categories in 2019.
"Fantastic performance," head coach
Greg LaPorte said after that opener. "I'm not going to lie and say I'm surprised because that's who she is, she's a fierce competitor."
Anders earned her second Offensive Player of the Week honor three weeks later after another two-goal game off the bench in a 6-0 win over UC Riverside, vaulting her to the WCC's goal-scoring lead. She went on to score the game-winning goal in USD's 2-1 win at Portland and finished the year on the All-WCC Freshman Team.
The sport runs in the family — Anders' mother, Sherice (Bartling) Anders, starred at USD before playing professionally in the WUSA for the Boston Breakers, and was in the stands for her daughter's historic debut.
| 2026 ALL-WCC WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON TEAM |
| Name |
Institution |
| Amanda Anders |
San Diego |
| Hailey Bagby |
Portland |
| Aliyah Dockter |
Portland |
| U'i Kaaihue |
Seattle U |
| Peyton Leonard |
Pepperdine |
| Kyra Murphy |
Pepperdine |
| Mailin Orozco |
Santa Clara |
| Kate Plachy |
Saint Mary's |
| Julia Quinonez |
Pepperdine |
| Violet Rademacher |
Portland |
| Ashlyn Vaughn |
Saint Mary's |
2026 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON COACHES POLL
| Place |
Team |
First Place |
Points |
| 1. |
Pepperdine |
9 |
81 |
| T-2. |
Portland |
|
61 |
| T-2. |
Santa Clara |
|
61 |
| 4. |
Saint Mary's |
|
60 |
| 5. |
Seattle U |
1 |
54 |
| 6. |
LMU |
|
39 |
| 7. |
Denver |
|
38 |
| 8. |
San Diego |
|
28 |
| 9. |
Pacific |
|
15 |
| 10. |
San Francisco |
|
13 |
