The WSU soccer team took care of business over the weekend in two crucial games to keep its postseason hopes alive.

The team finished the regular season at home with a 1-0 win against Arizona on Friday and a 1-0 over time win against Arizona State on Sunday. The two victories improved the Cougars’ overall record to 10-5-5 and 4-3-2 in the Pac-10. WSU knew that wins in its final two games would make a strong case to be selected to its first NCAA tournament since 2002.

With that thought in mind, the team got the weekend started with a shutout win over the Wildcats. Junior Elysse Van Leer scored the game’s only goal to lead the Cougars to the important victory.

Van Leer’s goal came early in first half at the 13:53 mark. Freshman Lani Amack earned the assist on the play by sending a long pass to Van Leer up the right side of the field.

Van Leer gathered the ball and took a shot that was deflected by an Arizona defender and went into the net for her third game-winning goal of the season.

“I got a good service, (Amack) put it in front of me so I could run onto it and I got in on frame,” Van Leer said.

The Cougar defense took over from there to post its eighth shutout of the season. Arizona’s best scoring opportunities came late in the first half and midway through the second half.

Arizona’s Alex Davis got a good look on net in the 39th minute with a header, but Jenny Christoph cleared the ball to keep the Cougar lead.

The Wildcats nearly equaled the score in the 69th minute when Jasmine Namdar fired a shot at the Cougar net. Goalkeeper Lindsay Parlee made a diving save and deflected the ball and Mackenzie Mutz’s rebound shot missed wide left.

“I thought we did the game plan real justice today, because we knew their threats up top and we handled that very well,” Head Coach Matt Potter said. “I thought our back four performed magnificently today.” The win over the Wildcats set the stage for the decisive season finale on Sunday against Arizona State. The weather could not have been worse as fog clung to the lower soccer field, causing poor visibility the entire match. Players could barely see across the field and it was nearly impossible to see from goal to goal.

The Cougars saw good scoring opportunities throughout the game. The team out shot the Sun Devils 9-1 in the first half and 16-11 in the game. However, neither team found the back of the net during regulation. Van Leer nearly scored in the 79th minute off a pass from Carly Dobratz, but she missed to the left.

A minute later the Sun Devils almost broke the tie, but Parlee made a diving save to the left side of the goal to keep the game scoreless. For the second game in a row, the defense led the way for the Cougars. The defense posted its ninth shutout of the season and Parlee recorded five saves.

“Our defense stepped up big today and we were all real tight and on the same page,” Parlee said. As the game wore on and entered overtime the fog got significantly worse, leaving few scoring opportunities in the first 10-minute period of extra time.

At the 2:56 mark of the second overtime, Van Leer finally broke the tie with her second game-winning goal of the weekend. Van Leer tapped the ball into the goal off a deflected Dobratz shot.

The team immediately stormed the field after the ball rolled into the back of the net.

“I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Potter said. “They obviously knew the situation going into the weekend and they were obviously a little nervous, more so than usual probably. Their character, their resilience, and the way they kept pressing and pressing I couldn’t be prouder as a coach.” The Cougars will find out at 5 p.m. today if the wins were enough to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. The tournament selection will be broadcast on ESPN News.