WSU soccer hosts two Pac-12 opponents this week at the Lower Soccer Field in Pullman. 

The Cougs will play No. 14 Stanford at 5 p.m. today and California at 1 p.m. Sunday. 

WSU has an undefeated record of 3-0-0 in Pac-12 play and a 9-1-1 overall record this year. In their last match, they won against Colorado 2-0.

Stanford has a dominant 24-3-2 record against WSU. In their last matchup in October 2019, Stanford won 5-0. The last time WSU won against the Cardinal was in 2013. 

The Cardinal have an 8-3-0 record this season, with their latest loss coming against Oregon State. On Sunday, Stanford rebounded with a 2-1 win over Oregon, which was the Ducks’ first loss of the year. 

Maya Doms leads scoring for the Cardinal with seven goals on the year and scored the match-winning goal against Oregon on Sunday. Goalkeeper Katie Meyer is 8-3 with six shutouts and 24 saves. The match against Stanford has critical implications for the postseason and the Pac-12 title race. 

“I expect to win,” Head Coach Todd Shulenberger said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. They got goals; we got goals. We’re in a good spot, and so is Stanford.”

California has a winning 15-11-2 record against WSU. Their last matchup was a 1-0 win by WSU, and the Cougars are currently on a two-match win streak against the Bears. California has a 5-2-3 overall record and a 1-1-1 conference record this year.

Before playing the Cougars, the Bears are playing fellow Pac-12 team Washington in Seattle. California’s last match was a 2-1 win against Oregon State at home. Before that, the Bears lost 2-0 to Oregon at home. 

WSU has found recent success in the Pac-12 with both freshman goalkeeper Nadia Cooper and fifth-year midfielder Sydney Pulver being named Pac-12 Players of the Week. Cooper was named goalkeeper of the week while Pulver was named defender of the week. 

The Cougar’s defense is up to the task as they are currently ranked third in the nation. WSU set a program record with their sixth-straight shutout. The Cougars have not conceded a goal in 549 minutes, the second-longest streak in program history. 

The WSU offense is finding success as well with 29 goals by 10 different players and eight different match-winning scorers.  The Cougars offense ranks fifth in the nation for shots per match with an average of 22.27 shots and 22nd in scoring with 2.64 goals per match. 

Fifth-year forward Elyse Bennett leads the way for the Cougars with seven goals this season, ranking third in the Pac-12. She has scored 2 goals in Pac-12 play this year. WSU was picked fifth in the Pac-12 in the preseason poll, which marked their third straight year picked in the top half of the conference.  

“[Bennett]’s on everyone’s scouting report,” Shulenberger said.

Do not miss out on the Cougar action. The matches can be seen in person or watched online on the Pac-12 Network with stats by StatBroadcast.