The No. 23 WSU women’s soccer team (4-0-0) defeated Weber State (0-4-0) 3-1 Sunday at Lower Soccer Field in Pullman. WSU continued their perfect start to the season with three goals from three different Cougs, including a SportsCenter top-10 play from freshman Naomi Clark coming in at No. 7.
The opening goal came in the 22nd minute, with junior Rajanah Reed assisting senior Margie Detrizio. Reed was on the right side of the pitch carrying the ball forward toward the goal, when she played a ball across the six-yard box. Detrizio made a run toward goal, and with a Wildcat defender close by she managed to knock it into the back of the net.
“We work on that a lot in practice, beat the player out wide, get to the end line and just cross it in,” Reed said. “I know Margie [Detrizio] is always gonna be there for me, so just cross it in for her.”
Detrizio’s goal was her second of the season and the 20th of her Cougar career. This moved her into WSU’s top 10 all-time scoring list. The Cougars led 1-0 going into halftime, for the first time this season.
In the 49th minute, Weber State equalized the game when forward Grace Kirby dribbled around the top of the box, before sending a shot into the upper side netting to make the score 1-1.
With the score tied, WSU settled into the game defensively, managing to take control of possession but finding it hard to break the Weber State back line as they committed to defending the Cougar attack. Reed broke the game open in the 65th minute when she managed to score the game-winner. The junior chased down a loose ball toward the Weber State end line, where she managed to dribble past two Wildcat defenders before firing the ball from the edge of the six-yard box into the back of the net to make it 2-1. The go-ahead was Reed’s first career goal as a Cougar.
“Definitely a big feeling for me, makes me super excited, a lot more to come,” Reed said.
A little over 10 minutes later, WSU added another goal from Clar in the 76th minute. After receiving the ball from junior Reese Tappan, Clark found herself with her back to goal outside the box. With just one touch, she managed to turn her defender and curled a left-footed strike into the top left corner over the Weber State goalkeeper. Reed celebrated her second goal in as many home games this season with a dance before playing an air guitar toward the center circle.
This was Clark’s third goal of the season and first since her equalizer against Texas A&M. Clark attributed the WSU fans as being the reason she’s scored so many goals at home this season.
“They get really rowdy, and it kind of helps,” Reed said.“It doesn’t really matter what you do, they just get rowdy and it kind of motivates me.”
WSU head coach Todd Shulenberger spoke after the game about the Cougars’ challenging schedule early this season, and how he thought the game went.
“We weren’t very good today, we’re tired, and that’s no disrespect to them,” Shulenberger said. “They had a good game plan with what they were trying to do. We had a challenging schedule out of the gate and we’re on the road a lot. I knew this was going to be a tough game, they gutted through it, they played us hard and that’s what we’re looking for.”
The WSU defense held Weber State to only six total shots, with only two on goal. WSU had 22 total shots with eight shots on goal. WSU led the game with 12 corner kicks to the Wildcats’ one. Junior goalkeeper Nadia Cooper had one save in the game and also picked up her 22nd career win.
The Cougars are back in action at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31 when they host San Diego State at Lower Soccer Field in Pullman.
