The Washington State Cougars (3-3-3) tied the Utah State Aggies (8-0-1) 0-0 Thursday evening in Logan, Utah, in a fight between two recently successful women’s soccer programs.
The Aggies were coming off a string of eight straight victories to start the season, with Thursday’s match resulting in their first non-victory. The Cougs faced their second-ranked opponent of the season Thursday after losing to No. 2 Stanford 0-2 in just the team’s fourth matchup.
USU looked rattled in comparison to its normal self in the first half, facing its most physical opponent since facing BYU earlier in the season when they were ranked No. 16. The Cougs played a physical brand of soccer, working hard to draw fouls and keep the Aggies from pushing their vaunted swift counterattack.
Possession was split fairly closely in the first half, and very few offensive breakthroughs were seen. WSU ended the first half with three straight corner kick opportunities and a beautiful set piece in the 40th minute from midfielder Reagan Kotschau that was barely saved at the crossbar by USU goalkeeper Cora Brendle. At the half, the Cougars and the Aggies had only managed three and two shots on goal respectively.
In the second half, the Aggies came out much stronger, looking closer to the unbeaten top-10 program they had been all season. They dominated possession for much of the half and got a flurry of crosses into the box in the latter stages.
Aggies players collided two times with Cougar goalie Nadia Cooper in the 51st minute and just before the 70th minute, both resulting in arguable calls in favor of WSU. USU head coach Manny Martins was visibly upset with many of the calls in the game, especially in the second half, as USU nearly doubled the total fouls of WSU for the game committing 16 to WSU’s nine.
Within eight minutes between the 70th and 80th minutes, three Cougs including head coach Todd Shulenberger, received yellow cards as the referee began to listen to Martins’ arguments.
WSU was forced on the defensive for the entirety of the second half as USU would finish both the half and the game with eight more shots total. Despite last-minute shot attempts from Aggies Summer Diamond and Kate Christian, the Cougs held on for an impressive road draw. The match represented one of the toughest tests of the season for both teams, as the Aggies were shut out by an unranked team and the Cougs fought hard to force a tie against a top-10 team.
For the Cougs, Kotschau had the strongest performance, with two shots on goal and three total shots. She was consistently on the offensive attack for the full 90 minutes and just missed on multiple opportunities.
On the Aggies side, Brendle had a strong performance given she has only started two games this season. She had four saves, including an impressive save against Kotschau, punching it just over the crossbar.
The Cougars will return to Lower Soccer Field next Saturday, Sept. 28th, against the University of San Diego.
