It’s been a while since anyone has pushed Oregon Episcopal in Class 3A/2A/1A girls soccer.

Last year, the Aardvarks outscored their opponents 115-6 to win their fourth consecutive state title. They won all of their matches by at least two goals, beating rival Catlin Gabel 5-1 in the state championship game.

But Oregon Episcopal won’t have to wait long for a test this season. The Aardvarks take a 26-game winning streak into their season opener Aug. 24 at Class 6A Summit, last year’s Class 5A champion.

“That’ll be a good challenge for us right out of the gate,” third-year Oregon Episcopal coach Justan Wolvert said. “The athletic department has done a good job of scheduling us some tough nonconference games.”

The Aardvarks will play Class 6A St. Mary’s Academy for the second year in a row. They also square off against three teams that finished in the top eight in the Class 4A power rankings last season in Scappoose (now Class 5A), Valley Catholic and Molalla.

Oregon Episcopal graduated leading scorer Annika Lovestrand and playmakers Megan Ruoff and Ruby Aaron, but has a strong nucleus of seniors ready to fill the void.

Olivia Giannini, Stephanie Finley, Emily Ford and Rachel Lowell provide experience in the midfield and Joanna Cloutier will help anchor the defense.

“It’ll just be more of an opportunity for other players to step up and have a bigger role,” Wolvert said. “Offensively, we have a lot of weapons. Every varsity player last year had a goal and an assist, so the ball was spread around. We were a very balanced team last year and I expect us to be similarly balanced this year.”

Giannini, primarily a defender in her first two seasons, is back for her second year in an attacking role.

“She’s a phenomenal player. I think she’s going to have a bigger year for us,” Wolvert said.

The Aardvarks have won six of the last seven state titles, the first four under coach Scot Thompson.

“The senior group that takes over doesn’t want to be the group that drops the baton,” Wolvert said. “There’s an extreme amount of confidence in what they can do and how they go about it. For having won state consecutive years, I don’t feel that pressure, and as a coach that’s nice, and it’s nice that the players don’t feel that.”