Cougs sweep Arizona schools

Kurt Schroeder Evergreen Soccer reporter

The weather was hot in Arizona this weekend, but the Washington State University women’s soccer team was even hotter as the team recorded two victories against Arizona and Arizona State, respectively.

In the Sunday 1-0 win against ASU, senior forward Micaela Castain sent a pass that sophomore midfielder Cara Wegner finished in the 27th minute, which proved to be the difference maker as the Cougars improved its record to (11-3-3, 4-3-1 Pac-12).

Washington State had a tremendous showing of fan support Sunday due to redshirt senior midfielder Kayla Johnson and junior forward Jocelyn Jeffers returning to their home state, something Head Coach Keidane McAlpine said he thought fueled the team.

“First and foremost, thank you to our fans who came out,” he said. “They were there in big numbers and were loud and supportive.”

The close result once again justified the quality of the Pac-12 conference where wins are earned and do not come easily.

“The soccer wasn’t pretty, but it was a great way to close out our weekend with a victory over a good Arizona State team,” McAlpine said.

Over the past couple weeks, the defense has been suspect from time to time, but the defense held its own Sunday giving redshirt junior goalkeeper Gurveen Clair her 21st shutout, tying a WSU record.

“Gurveen Clair and Rachael Doyle played unbelievable,” said McAlpine. “It was Gurveen’s best game, and Rachael was a warrior for us.”

Washington State also earned a 4-0 victory over Arizona Friday with help from Wegner, junior midfielder Nicole Setterlund and junior midfielder Mesa Owsley, who celebrated a birthday.

Wegner started off the scoring in the 20th minute when she received a through ball and shot it far post beyond the reach of the goalkeeper, giving WSU a 1-0 advantage.

During the second half of play, Setterlund scored two goals just 3 minutes and 15 seconds apart.

In the 53rd minute, Castain played a ball into the box, flicked it up, and a charging Setterlund rose above the defense to head the ball home to the back post.

Minutes later, Castain sent a corner kick into the box that was headed by Jeffers and cleaned up by Setterlund who poked it past the goalkeeper.

The Cougars were not satisfied with a 3-0 lead, however, and in the 67th minute, Owsley took a free kick and sent a left footed laser into the back of the net.

With contributions from everyone, McAlpine said he was pleased with the level of involvement from all of his players.

“Today was one of our best team performances of the season,” he said. “Everyone who played gave us great energy. We did a good job to go up early and our intensity at the start of the second half was tremendous.”

Being able to implement Johnson and Wegner back into the starting lineup will continue to help the team down the road, while Owsley’s goal was the cherry on top.

“To get Kayla and Cara back at full strength makes us a much more deep and dangerous team,” McAlpine said. “I am so happy for Mesa. To score a goal on her birthday is special.”

Washington State returns home and will take on California Friday at 2 p.m.