WSU is headed to Colorado for two away matches this weekend. First, the Cougars play Denver at 6 p.m. Thursday. The second match is against Northern Colorado at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Last week, the Cougars played Seattle and Kansas. WSU won 3-0 against Kansas and lost 1-2 to Seattle. WSU has a 4-1-1 overall record this year. Head coach Todd Shulenberger said he was disappointed with the loss. 

“The previous game against Seattle was quite honestly unacceptable, the way we lost,” Shulenberger said. “I am very disappointed with that result against Seattle. Nothing against Seattle, but it’s just something that can’t happen.”

WSU is tied for wins against Denver with a 1-1 record since 2004. The Cougars have not played Denver since 2010 where the Cougars suffered a 3-1 loss to the Pioneers. Denver currently has a winning 5-2 overall record this year. 

In their last game, the Pioneers won 6-2 against Northern Colorado. Before that, Denver suffered their only two losses of the season with a 2-4 loss to Grand Canyon and a 2-4 loss to SMU. Shulenberger said Denver will be a strong opponent.

“Denver’s got a Hermann Trophy watch candidate and she’s doing a good job. They got a great team. They’re big too. They’re strong, they’re athletic and they’re having a great year,” he said. 

WSU has only played one game against Northern Colorado back in 2004, where the Cougars came away with a 3-2 victory. Before playing WSU, Northern Colorado will play Wyoming on Thursday in Laramie, Wyoming. 

Northern Colorado currently has a losing 1-5-2 overall record this season. Their last three games were low-scoring losses. Northern Colorado lost 1-2 to Cal State Fullerton, 0-1 to Missouri and 0-1 to University of Nebraska Omaha. 

Shulenberger said Northern Colorado usually wins their conference or makes it to the finals. He said neither team is going to be an easy “cupcake” of a game. In the upcoming games, the Cougars will be focused on making fewer mistakes. 

“We got to minimize our minimal mistakes,” he said. “The amount of mistakes we are making is minimal in the big scheme, but the one or two opportunities the other team is taking care of.” 

Do not miss out on the Cougar action. There is no livestream of the match against Denver, but live stats can be followed on Sidearm Sports.  The match against Northern Colorado can be seen on ESPN with live stats provided by Sidearm Sports.