WSU Soccer (1-1-1) had their first two home matches of the season on Thursday and Sunday. Their first match was against the Portland Pilots and Sunday was against the Eastern Washington Eagles. 

The Cougs and Pilots drew 0-0 in the game Thursday. This is the first time ever that the Pilots did not beat WSU outright. The Pilots were 13-0 against WSU coming into the game. The game on Sunday saw the Cougs finally score in front of their home fans and beat the Eagles 3-1. Margie Detrizio scored twice against Eastern to lead all scorers.

WSU vs. Portland:

Thursday’s game against the Pilots was the first non-conference regular season match in Pullman of 2022. WSU came out swinging, taking eight shots in the first half to the Pilots four. Both teams made two saves in the first half. 

“Portland’s a good team, Portland did a good job,” Todd Shulenberger, WSU soccer head coach said postgame. 

The first half of the game was very slow, with nothing major occurring before halftime. Mykiaa Minniss got a yellow card in the 39th minute for a foul she committed. This was one of seven fouls committed by WSU in the first half.

The second-half action picked up early for the Cougs as they were attacking the goal by the student section. WSU took 10 shots in the second half with five of them being on target. The Pilots goalkeeper made five saves in the second half compared to Nadia Cooper who only made one save on three shots from the Pilots. 

WSU was attacking the entire half, as they created chance after chance including a few quality opportunities, but could not seem to find the back of the net. WSU kept shooting right at the Pilots goalkeeper and did not seem to put real pressure on her to make a save in the game, keeping the Cougs and Pilots locked in a 0-0 draw through the end.

“We definitely had opportunities for sure,” Shulenberger said postgame. 

Detrizio led all players in the game with six shots and three on target. Grayson Lynch had four shots with one on target for the Cougs. 

WSU had five players play all 90 minutes in the game while the Pilots had two, according to WSU Athletics. These players were: Cooper, Reese Tappan, Bridget Rieken, Minniss and Jenna Studer. Lily Boyden saw the most playing time off the bench for WSU with two shots and one on target in her 43 minutes. Marin Whieldon also had two shots with one on target for WSU off the bench and played 42 minutes.

WSU vs. Eastern Washington:

Sunday’s game against the Eastern Washington Eagles was one that the Cougs needed. The Cougs put constant pressure on the Eagles defense, taking a total of 28 shots with eight being on target compared to seven shots with two on target from the Eagles in the game, according to WSU Athletics.

After a 1-1 firsthalf score, the Cougs got it together early in the second half and scored two more goals to win 3-1. 

“I’m happy we got the win, I like the response,” Shulenberger said postgame.

This was the Cougs eighth meeting all-time and eighth straight win against the Eagles with the first being in 1998. All eight games against Eastern Washington have been played in Pullman.

Sydney Studer scored the first goal of the game for the Cougs in the 10th minute off a corner from Lynch.

In the 22nd minute there was a controversial foul inside the box from the Cougs defense which led to a penalty for Eastern Washington. Cooper dove the right way, but could not complete the save and Madison Kem converted the penalty to tie the game 1-1. 

The first half saw 12 shots from WSU and only four from Eastern. WSU also took four corners in the half and the Eagles took zero. 

In the second half, WSU finally started converting their chances and scored two goals. Detrizio scored her second goal of the season in the 47th minute to give the Cougs the 2-1 lead. The goal was assisted by Minniss. Detrizio then scored a brace in the 67th minute to give WSU the 3-1 lead. The goal was assisted by Brianna McReynolds. WSU took 16 shots in the second half and the Eagles took only three. 

Detrizio had three shots in the game and scored on two of them. Studer had five shots with three on target in the game including her goal. 

Only Cooper and Rieken played all 90 minutes for the Cougs as they used 12 substitutions in the game. Tappan played the most off the bench for WSU with 68 minutes played. 

The next time the Cougs play will be Thursday as they travel to Seattle as they take on Seattle U in the first game of the season in September. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. They will return to the Lower Soccer Field at 6 p.m. on Sunday when they will face Denver.

WSU vs. Portland Gallery

Gallery • 15 Photos

COLE QUINN

WSU forward Grayson Lynch (middle) dribbles past Portland defender Emily Collier (left) toward goal during an NCAA women's soccer match against Portland, Aug. 25, at Lower Soccer Field.