The WSU soccer team (0-1) will be back in front of a crowd of crimson and gray 7 p.m. Thursday at the Lower Soccer Fields. The Cougs will take on the Montana (2-0) Grizzlies.

WSU and Montana have fought 23 times before, wielding an edge with an all-time record of 15-5-2. The two teams last met in 2021, when the Cougs took a 3-0 victory in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. 

As a team that occasionally makes the postseason, Montana will be a great opponent, Head coach Todd Shulenberger said.

“We know it’ll be a very tough game,” Shulenberger said. “They’ve got some great athletes across the board and they put the ball in the net, so it’ll be a good challenge.”

The Cougs will additionally hit Lower Soccer Fields Sunday, where they will meet the neighboring Idaho Vandals (1-1). The Cougs have swept the all-time series at 13-0 since the two Palouse teams first met in 2002. The last time the Cougs and Vandals met, WSU won 3-0.

Last week, the Cougs fell to Purdue 0-1 in their season opener. WSU held Purdue scoreless for 75 minutes, and with WSU’s seven shots to Purdue’s 16, there is still time for learning and adjustment as six transfers and five freshmen have filled out the Cougs’ roster. The influence of season veterans — such as keeper Nadia Cooper, who tallied six saves at Purdue — will continue to have an impact as the team’s dynamic develops.

“I think that game could have gone either way,” Shulenberger said. “We live and we learn and we’re on to the next.”

However, in addition to being ranked No. 2 in the West Coast Conferences’ pre-season coaches poll, the Cougs were listed No. 21 on a list of the top 50 collegiate women’s soccer teams in the last five years by soccerwire.com.

“This great accolade [is important] for recruiting and acknowledgement,” Shulenberger said. “But there’s so much more work to do. I mean, my goals are always to go all the way to the top.”

Both Thursday and Sunday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN+.