The WSU Men’s Soccer Club took down the Bulldogs 3-2 in Gonzaga Saturday after struggling against the Bulldogs in the Northwest Cup tournament. The Cougars squeaked past Gonzaga as both teams scored all of their goals in the second half.

“We needed to focus on the tactics that we established, which we lacked in the semifinal matchup against them,” Cougs striker Zachary Daniels said. “We also needed to capitalize on the chances, which we failed to do in our first matchup as well.”

The Cougars struggled in the first half by drawing an early card as penalties became an issue for both teams. This led to an early penalty kick for the Bulldogs but the kick went wide right and kept the game 0-0.

“It was a physical game which led to a bunch of fouls but that happens in rivalry games like,” Daniels said.

WSU struggled for the rest of the half with Gonzaga controlling most of the possession. The Cougars managed to get halftime unscathed though, holding the Bulldogs to zero goals for a much-needed reset at half. The teams headed into halftime with no scores.

“We lacked cohesion as a team and failed to accomplish the tactical concepts that coach Alex [Gang] taught us during practice the previous week,” Daniels said. “I think the halftime pep talk by [Ryan Johnson] helped motivate us to come out strong in the second half.”

The Cougs came out of halftime revitalized. They would strike with a quick goal in the second half off a cross bar shot by Ben Hanson. With a 1-0 lead early in the half, the team quickly propelled to another quick goal by Hanson, extending the lead to 2-0 in the 58th minute.

In the 65th minute, WSU suffered a major setback as captain and defensive midfielder Kento Ichimura was injured when a Gonzaga player stepped on his face, forcing him to miss the remainder of the match. Gonzaga was called for a fould and a red card, leaving the Bulldogs with just 10 men on the field.

WSU’s offense remained dominant, leading striker Adam Fritz to net another goal and extending the Cougars lead.

Although the Cougars were up three and looking towards a win, Gonzaga would rally back in the final 10 minutes, scoring two goals to bring the game back within reach.

“I think we just got a little complacent being up three goals and decided to sit back,” Daniels said. “We should have tried to get the fourth goal to solidify the game.”

Although the Cougars let the Bulldogs rally back, they were able to shut them down in the final minutes to secure the one-goal win. With the victory, the team secured a spot at regionals on April 10–14.

“I think we are at a good place for the regional tournament and the team is ready to put all our effort into practice to prepare for the tournament,” Daniels said. “I’m excited to see how we can improve compared to our performances in the tournament this past year.”

The team will face the University of Idaho next at home on March 22.