Cougs return from road trip still unbeaten

Senior forward Micaela Castain continued to shoulder the scoring load for the Washington State women’s soccer team over the weekend.

The Cougars (7-0-2) defeated the UC Irvine Anteaters 4-0 Sunday in its last non-conference match of the regular season.

Castain recorded her team leading 10th goal of the season just minutes into the game when she fired a shot just underneath the crossbar off a converted turnover.

WSU continued its scoring threat when senior defender Delaney Zalud served a set piece into the box that junior midfielder Nicole Setterlund headed inside the left post, extending the Cougars’ lead 2-0.

Junior forward Jocelyn Jeffers made it a 3-0 advantage in the 61st minute off a header inside the box from sophomore defender Mariah Powers.

However, WSU was not done yet. Junior midfielder Mesa Owsley added the fourth goal of the match in the 88th minute off an assist from Castain.

Head Coach Keidane McAlpine was impressed with his team’s ability to play a quality brand of soccer for the entire 90 minutes.

“We played well from beginning to end,” he said. “The early goal got us going, and we had our best performance of the season. We beat a good team today because we gave a complete team effort.”

WSU finished the match with a 10-7 shooting advantage, while being edged by UC Irvine 5-2 in corner kicks.

The Cougars also picked up a 1-0 victory Friday, which was the Cal State Fullerton Titans’ first home loss of the season.

The win was thanks to a 32nd-minute goal from Castain coming off a slipped pass from sophomore forward Kourtney Guetlein.

Castain’s goal was her redemption after she missed a chance to give WSU the lead in the 22nd minute off a penalty kick.

“Cal State Fullerton played very well and made things difficult for us,” McAlpine said. “Our kids did a very good job to stay focused and compact in the back. Micaela Castain was big for us again tonight. It was a match played at a conference and postseason level.”

The Cougars continued its unbeaten streak to 13 games, the second longest active streak in the nation, according to Washington State University Athletic Communications.

WSU soccer will open Pac-12 play on the road at Oregon Thursday at 7 p.m., which will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.