In their most recent game against then No. 7 Utah State, WSU wrapped up their non-conference tilt at 3-3-3. Something else important aside from wins and losses developed for the Cougs over the first half of the season: their identity.
In a press conference Tuesday, head coach Todd Shulenberger stressed the importance of starting fresh with the upcoming conference schedule starting with San Diego and learning from the lessons during the first half of the season.
“All I’m concerned about right now is San Diego, it’s a big one for us,” Shulenberger said. “I like our chances, I know we’re hungry, let’s take care of that and see where this goes. I mean you obviously want to start something positive and we started the year with an unfortunate loss at Purdue, so I’m not going to let them forget that. So it’s a different season now in my book and let’s go out and get this first one and then let’s take care of the next step and the next goal after that.”
Shulenberger is preaching a mindset of both improvement and looking forward, and rightly so given the upcoming schedule. Santa Clara and Pepperdine are both highly-ranked schools this year, at No. 12 and No. 14 respectively, and LMU and Portland are having strong years on the pitch as well. Several WCC matchups present key opportunities to boost the Cougars’ RPI and build an NCAA tournament resume.
The USU match represented a pivotal moment for the Cougs this season, as they transitioned to conference play and put the final stamp on their true identity. The Cougs were the first opponent USU faced this season that handed them a clean sheet and it was the first result (win or tie) against a top-10 ranked opponent since a 1-1 tie against UCLA in 2021. Despite going scoreless themselves, WSU had a statement performance for the season against a top-10 opponent.
One of the biggest reasons for this defensive success is goalkeeper Nadia Cooper, who has had her athleticism and vision on full display this season. Cooper was named WCC Defensive Player of the Week this week and was also given the same honor back on Aug. 26, the only player to do that twice this season. She has 17 saves in the last four matches and her goals allowed average is just 1.11 on the season.
Cooper, being a senior, is the leader of this defense, but coach Shulenberger emphasized his starting center backs as well.
“Reese Tappen and Jenna Studer were fantastic at the game along with Nadia Cooper,” Shulenberger said. “I mean they dealt with a lot of pressure from time to time. But it was balls driven into their head, they had to clear it out, they had to maintain possession, they had to do things to settle the game down, and they were running a lot. Nadia got the award, but both Reese and Jenna had a fantastic game.”
Tappen and Studer, both seniors along with Cooper, represent an experienced back line that has made it tough for opponents to score all year. Cooper and the defensive line have produced three shutouts this year and have only allowed one opponent to score more than three goals so far. Shulenberger said he is proud of how the defense has played this season, but there is more work to be done to translate that defense into offensive execution. He also noted the development of identity has become so prominent over the past month, with Cooper’s two awards and multiple impressive defensive outings.
“I thought we knew our goal in non-conference play was to challenge this team, I think we did that,” he said. “We would like to get a couple more positive results, take some of those ties away absolutely. But I think we definitely were up to the tasks, we know more about our identity now, and what we need to do as we open up WCC play this Saturday.”
With a proven identity in place, but with more still to prove, Shulenberger and the Cougs look ahead to this Saturday’s home bout with San Diego as well as a California road trip to play highly ranked Pepperdine and LMU, as they enter one of the tougher stretches of the season.
