In their penultimate home game of the season, the WSU soccer team notched a 1-0 victory over Colorado Thursday night in Pullman.
WSU’s defense, led by Bridget Reiken and Reece Tappan, held their ground against Colorado’s attacks while Cougar keeper Nadia Cooper saved all three of the Buffaloes’ first-half shots on goal.
In the 22nd minute, Reece Tappan found Margie Detrizio with a clean pass just ahead of midfield. Detrizio broke away, dribbling up the field virtually unchallenged, and netted the lone and winning goal of the night.
A gritty matchup saw the Cougs lead Colorado in fouls 19-18. In the first half, Tappan took a hit to the face while Lindsey Turner was shown a yellow card in the 17th minute. Two Colorado players were shown back-to-back yellows in the 70th and 72nd minute, both for unsporting behavior.
Tappan said that the two teams share a similar style of play, and the Cougs knew what to expect before this match-up.
“We knew coming in that it was gonna be a battle,” Tappan said.
Despite the intensity of play, the Cougars kept steady possession of the ball and outshot the Buffaloes 11-5. WSU’S tally came from six different players, most notably Detrizio with three, Megan Santa Cruz with three and Reagan Kotschau with two.
Missing from Colorado’s usual lineup was senior forward Shyra James, who is currently ranked as the top offensive player in the Pac-12. Totaling 26 points, James has 12 goals and 68 shots on the season. The Buffaloes appeared to struggle to find an offensive edge with James’ absence.
Detrizio’s performance on Thursday proves that she continues to put in results, moving up to fourth in the Pac-12’s offensive rankings. Her goal against Colorado marks her seventh on the season and the 25th of her career. With an increased point total of 65, she has improved to sixth all-time in program history.
With one more home game to go and a season coming to a close, Thursday’s win is huge for the Cougs in terms of post-season play.
“We don’t wanna go out when time’s running out,” Detrizio said. “We want to use this time to get into the tournament, and the bad news is that those people, when get into the tournament, aren’t gonna want to play us, and that’s how we want it to be. We want them to be scared of us.”
“We always gonna bring that Coug edge, and always, Coug soccer is gonna come and beat you down,” Detrizio said.
Thursday’s match marks the fifth in a row that the Cougs walked away unbeaten by the Buffaloes. WSU improves to 9-4-1 all-time against Colorado.
The Cougars returned on their home turf one last time this season, celebrating Senior Day at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Lower Soccer Field in Pullman. The Cougs tied against Utah 1-1.
