The No. 24 WSU women’s soccer team (6-1-0) hosts Seattle University (2-5-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Lower Soccer Field. The Cougars are hosting “Swifties at the Pitch” with the game to be aired on Pac-12 Washington.
Thursday’s game is WSU’s non-conference schedule finale. The Cougs hold a 16-2-0 record against the Redhawks and a 6-1-0 record under Coach Shulenberger against Seattle all-time. Last year in Seattle, then-junior Jenna Studer scored in the last thirty seconds to win the Cougs the game, 2-1.
“We’re excited about our last non-conference match here this Thursday night,” said head coach Todd Shulenberger during a press conference Tuesday. “Looking forward to staying on track here as we move forward against a good Seattle team.”
With a win against Kansas Sunday as well as a loss to Saint Mary’s last Thursday, the Cougars find themselves ranked No. 24 in the country by this week’s United Soccer Coaches Poll.
WSU ranks fifth nationally in corner kick opportunities, as the Cougars are generating over eight corner kicks per game ( 8.57).
The team was trying to ride the momentum of the Kansas win, and finish off non-conference play strongly, Shulenberger said.
“They’re a tough out, they’re gonna be a great team,” Shulenberger said. “They just tied the Huskies the other day. The Portland game was back and forth, Portland beat them 1-0 late. They’re well-coached and a great program. An in-state match we always look forward to, it helps both teams RPIs and helps both teams get prepared for the next battle we’ll have down the road. It’s going to be a great game Thursday night, we’re looking to continue on that track we’ve been on since the Kansas game.”
Redshirt freshman Musuai Isaia made her first career appearance in Sunday’s win over Kansas, starting in goal for the Cougars, where Isaia made two saves and earned her first career clean sheet, the second of the year for WSU.
“Last year, all players, and even the head coach myself, needed to do a better job of accountability,” said Shulenberger. “This isn’t just a situation we had in goal against St. Mary’s, this is something at the end of last year that we needed to do. Me, a better job of holding people accountable in some big moments, that can’t let those types of things happen. We move forward, It shows the depth of the team and it shows the accountability factor across the board.”
Naomi Clark made her first collegiate start in Sunday’s win and leads WSU with three goals this year, tied for sixth in the Pac-12 and three goals back in the Conference’s golden boot race.
