WSU (6-5-6) held on for a 1-0 victory over San Francisco Saturday to get its first away win of the season and spoiled the Dons’ senior night.

The Cougs earned three critical points to put themselves in the thick of the race for a strong finish in the standings. It is unlikely WSU will reach the top, but they are still firmly in a position to make some noise over the final two games.

It did not take long for WSU to set the tone for the game as they came out of the gate on the attack. The Cougs quickly won possession in the USF half after the ceremonial senior substitutions were made and went on a pressing attack. After a throw-in on the right side of the field, Dons defender Erika Braun seemed to be letting the ball roll out when forward Raniyah Burton won the ball, sent a pass toward the middle that deflected off the goalie and freshman Kendall Campbell tapped it into an open net with no issue.

The Cougs have had a knack for scoring early goals recently, scoring in the first 15 minutes in five of the last seven matches. Kendall Campbell earned her fourth goal of the season and became the team’s goal-scoring leader within just her first seventeen matches with her goal on Saturday.

USF controlled and pushed the pace over the next 25 minutes, looking to find a quick equalizer in response to the energetic attack of WSU. Just three minutes after the goal, USF forward Jackie Koerwitz fired a shot on goal that forced a save from WSU goalkeeper Nadia Cooper. Forward Gabby Rizzo followed that shot with her own when she received a well-placed go-ahead pass from Lindsey Chau and beat defender Grayson Lynch on the run. Rizzo shot the ball wide of the pressuring Cooper but it hit the inside of the bar and no one was there to follow on the open net. 

After missing those opportunities and controlling the attack for those 25 minutes, WSU turned their attack around and finished the half strong. By the end of the half, the Cougs had outshot the Dons 8-4, with midfielder Megan Santa Cruz leading with three shots and two shots from Campell which were both on goal.

The Cougs opened the second half with three consecutive shots in the span of a minute. After a midfielder Julianna Duckett’s blocked shot, Santa Cruz got the deflection and delivered a ball to the left middle of the box and Lynch delivered a shot on goal. It was saved by goalie Kira Ybarra and the follow-up by midfielder Lindsey Turner was fired over the crossbar.

The rest of the half would see USF miss multiple crucial opportunities to tie the game, including three shots by Chau and two from midfielder Ellie Weissenberg. The opportunities would be capped off by a final attempt to earn a positive result with just fifteen seconds to go.

After winning a free kick, Chau sent the kick straight into the WSU wall and got the ball back to send a chip into the box. A USF attacker headed the ball and Weissenberg finished it into the goal just inside the six-yard box. The play was called offsides though and Weissenberg fell to her knees in clear disbelief, as the Cougs closed out the game shortly after.

The Dons fired off seven shots in the second half, but could not convert in key situations. Both teams played more aggressively in the second half, but the Cougs’ defense did just enough to hold on for the victory as their offense also stalled and failed to extend the lead. WSU head coach Todd Shulenberger emphasized the importance of his team maintaining their defensive identity.

“The mentality is just to stay on track here, stay on course,” Shulenberger said. “I mean we’ve all seen the highs and lows of these ties we’ve accumulated over the years. So we’re not having a problem getting that goal in right now, we just got to keep the board clean at the same time. So the message was get the win and we did that and put ourselves in a position to stay alive here a little bit.”

Although Campbell had the goal, Turner and Santa Cruz each had three shots to lead the WSU offensive. Lynch played in her 95th career match and sits at second place in program history, just three wins shy of tying first. Cooper earned her sixth shutout of the season and 32nd career win, putting her fourth in wins on the school’s all-time list.

Chau had four shots in 60 minutes of playing time, providing the bulk of the energy for the attacks that the Dons offense managed. USF remained in the bottom three of the WCC standings with just five total points.

WSU returns to Lower Soccer Field on Wednesday night for an important matchup with fellow incoming affiliate member Oregon State who are tied for first in the WCC standings.