WSU Soccer will play two games this week. First, they will host Seattle at 7 p.m. today and then a game against Kansas at 11 a.m. Sunday in Lawrence, Kansas. In their last match, the Cougars dominated with a 7-0 win against Hawaii, scoring the most goals in a game since 2002.

WSU junior Bridget Rieken has been named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. She is the first Cougar to win a weekly award for the Cougars during the 2021 season. Rieken and her defensive teammates allowed just six shots against the Cougars in the two contests they played last week. She also scored two goals for the Cougars in the game against Hawaii.

“She’s been a quiet leader. She’s been here since day one,” Head Coach Todd Shulenberger said.

WSU has a strong competitive record against Seattle with nine wins and one loss since 2008. In their last matchup, the Cougars defeated Seattle 2-1. Seattle has a 4-1-1 record so far this season. The Redhawks won their last two matches, first defeating Eastern Washington 1-0 and then defeating Portland 1-0.

Freshman Hallie Bergford scored in overtime to cement the victory for the Redhawks in the match against Eastern Washington. Another freshman, Jolie St. Louis, scored the only goal for Seattle at the end of the first half of the match against Portland.

“Seattle’s a great team. They have some great results,” Shulenberger said. “They’re confident right now. They’re probably feeling good. So we look forward to them coming over here for a challenge against us.”

Kansas and WSU have never played against each other before. Kansas has a 3-2-1 record so far this season. Shulenberger said Kansas is one of the top teams in the Big 12. Before facing the Cougars, the Jayhawks will play Cincinnati today. 

Kansas won their last match against Arkansas State 1-0. Sophomore Shira Elinav scored the Jayhawks’ lone goal in the 74th minute of that match where the Jayhawks attempted 21 shots. Before that match, the Jayhawks faced defeat with a 0-1 loss to Memphis.

Shulenberger said the two games are great opportunities for the Cougars.

“I like the challenge ahead of us this weekend both home and away. So we’re going to learn a lot this weekend after we get through these two games,“ he said.

Do not miss out on the Cougar action. The match against Seattle can be seen in person at the Lower Soccer Field or online on the Pac-12 network with statistics by StatBroadcast. The match against Kansas can be seen on ESPN+.