vs Utah State
Despite missing out on the Mountain West regular season title, the Aggies made up for it with a conference tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Utah State finished last season with a 18-1-5 record and the best winning percentange in the MW.
When the Cougs faced off against Utah State in Logan, Utah, last year, the Aggies outscored its opponents 29-6 while recording five shutouts in its first eight matches. The Cougs had previously lost to its only ranked opponent, Stanford, 0-2, and the Aggies were ranked No. 7. Yet WSU fought Utah State to a 0-0 draw on the road, holding the Aggies scoreless for the first time all season.
Utah State returns All-Mountain West forward Tess Werts who led the team in points last year as well as Kylie Chambers (No. 2 in points) and Summer Diamond (No. 5), who joined Werts on the conference’s preseason players to watch list.
The Aggies’ defense took a hit as it lost its four starting defenders, who all graduated and were the top four in minutes played last year. They also lost stalwart goalie Cora Brendle, who won MW Newcomer of the Year, but will be replaced by impact transfers Taylor Rath (Pepperdine) and Allee Grashoff (UC Riverside).
The Cougs will likely fight hard again, but the preseason MW favorites are likely too much for a Nadia Cooper-less WSU defense.
Prediction: Loss, 1-2
at Idaho
The Cougs beat the Vandals 2-1 last year at Lower Soccer Field but will travel to Moscow, Idaho this time around. The Vandals lost their assist and points leader in defender Alyssa Peters but will return their top goal scorer in graduate midfielder Annika Farley. In net, redshirt sophomore goalie Paula Flores returns after she broke onto the scene last year, starting all 20 matches for the Vandals and finishing third in the Big Sky in goals allowed average (1.04).
Idaho will be looking for a new set of leaders after losing ten seniors or graduate students last year. Upperclassmen who were major bench pieces last year, like forward Karli Yoshida-Williams, midfielders Sara Rogers and Tori Peters (Alyssa’s sister) and defender Izzy Thoma. Former Coug Georgia Whitehead will also look to get a leg up on her old team.
Idaho finished second in the conference standings last year and sported a 12-5-3 overall record. The Vandals fought eventual conference tournament champions Sacramento State to a 0-0 draw in the postseason, but lost in penalties. Idaho is set for another solid season, but will likely regress and is still 1-14 against its crosstown rivals. WSU should take care of business.
Prediction: Win, 2-1
vs Georgia
The Cougs match up with their straight opponent from the 2024 season, this time hosting a Bulldogs team that bullied WSU in Athens, Gerogia, 4-1.
The Bulldogs finished seventh in a tightly packed SEC table last season and went 8-7-6 overall, with its performance against WSU being one of the best of the season, scoring its second-most goals in any match in 2024. The Bulldogs showed promise at various times last year, including tying No. 1 Florida State, No. 7 Pittsburgh and No. 13 Auburn, and losing by one goal to three different top five teams.
UGA lost some key attacking pieces including points, goals and shots leader Margie Detrizio and third-leading goal scorer Hannah White. All-SEC midfielder Nicole Vernis also graduated. Despite the losses, Georgia returned points runner-up Summer Denigan and All-SEC goalkeeper Jordan Brown who recorded a 1.05 GAA in 21 starts last season.
With 14 upperclassmen and a 12-player recruiting class, Georgia has plenty of players with the experience to fill voids left from last year’s team and a variety of breakout candidates.
Given its strength of schedule and performance against WSU last season, the Bulldogs will prove a tough test for the Cougs.
Prediction: Loss, 0-2
at California
The Cougs with the former Pac-12 foe for the first time since 2023, a 1-1 tie in Berkeley. After a largely successful season that saw the Golden Bears reach the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 13-6-2 record, the Cal offense took a big hit with forward and ACC Offensive Player of the Year Karlie Lema graduating. Lema dominated Cal’s offensive production, notching 16 of the team’s 45 goals. Her 38 points were 26 than the next closest Cal player.
Cal returns All-ACC second team goalkeeper Teagan Wy, who despite starting just 10 games in a goalkeeping room that split time between three different goalies, quickly impressed ACC award voters.
Despite the departure of midfield stalwart Julia Leontini, the middle of Cal’s attack is likely to remain a strength of the lineup. Starters Alex Klos and Noelle Bond-Flasza return for senior leadership and the Golden Bears will expect a second jump from impressive freshman Campbell Carroll. Transfers Emelia Warta (Gonzaga) and Lumi Kostmayer (Stanford) will also likely shore up the attack.
Cal’s recent track record and deep midfield will likely give the Cougs a challenge, but expect a still-deep WSU backline to slow the game down to the Cougs level.
Prediction: Draw, 1-1
at UC San Diego
After fighting to a 1-1 draw with the Cougs last year, the Tritons struggled mightily the rest of the way, finishing 3-12-4 and finished second-to-last in the Big West. Last year’s match represented a missed opportunity for the Cougs to pick up three points, as WSU outshout UCSD 25-7 and controlled the middle of the field.
Importantly, the Tritons return their starting back three and senior Lindsey Park will anchor the middle of the field. UCSD still has questions across the rest of the roster, including who will replace the offensive production of last year’s seniors Raquel Kalpakoff and All-Big West honorable mention Courtney Hilliard.
UCSD is not likely to rebound in a significant way from last year’s disastrous campaign and the Cougs, with a focus on execution, should be too much for the Tritons.
Prediction: Win, 2-0
at UC Irvine
Another team that tied 1-1 with WSU last year, the Anteaters fared better than the Tritons in conference play but still finished 6-7-6 in a relatively disappointing season. A 2-5-2 to start the season in the non-conference schedule plagued UCI’s ceiling and ability to build momentum over the rest of the season.
The Anteaters lost all three of their all-conference selections from last season, including two of its starting forwards, led by UCI’s goal-scoring leader Emilie Castagna. Big West honorable mention Ashley Naylor, who started in goal all of last year, also graduated.
UCI will be relying on graduate students Mihaela Perez and Trinity Morales to rally their position groups to greater heights in the wake of veteran losses as well as a repeat of the freshman success midfielder Ivy Williams brought last season among its numerous local products on the roster.
In another battle of the midfield, WSU’s thin group may struggle to fight for possession in the same way as last year’s slugfest with UCI. Regardless, expect defense to turn to offense against a Anteater squad full of uncertainty.
Prediction: Win, 1-0
vs North Dakota State
The Bison lost to its only Power 4 opponent in Minnesota last year but finished 10-5-4 with a conference-best 6-1-1 record against Summit League opponents. NDSU failed to make it count in the postseason though, losing to Oral Roberts after earning an automatic berth into the semifinals.
Despite a disappointing finish, the Bison dominated the Summit League awards last year, with NDSU matching a program record by winning four of six individual awards and made history with forward Morgan Russmann winning Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same year for the first time in league history.
NDSU’s three conference first team selections will return in 2025 along with honorable mention Gabrielle Garrett. The Bison also retained key pieces in both the middle of the field and on the back line. Midfielders Devon Kavanagh and Hannah Arnold bring veteran leadership as facilitators and the defense will be anchored by first-team defender Amaya Garrett and fellow junior Tyreese Zacher.
With Russmann impressing as a freshman, the team’s young talent have the motivation and the coaching to be primed for a breakout that could leave the Cougs scrambling.
Prediction: Loss, 2-3
at Montana
Despite being dominated in possession and on the offensive in a 0-3 loss to the Cougs in Pullman last year, the Griz proved that performance to be a single-game collapse. Montana went unbeaten in conference play for a second straight year to claim the Big Sky regular season title while finishing 12-2-5. The Griz missed an opportunity to make noise in the NCAA tournament in a penalty shootout loss to Sacramento State in the Big Sky Championship match.
Montana returns as the favorites in the Big Sky and feature four of the 12 players on the first-ever preseason All-Big Sky team. Senior midfielder Maddie Ditta and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Bayliss Flynn both made all-conference first teams last season, with Flynn also being named Goalkeeper of the Year. Chloe Seelhoff, another senior mid, is the second-leading returning scorer in the Big Sky and also made the second team last season. Carly Whalen, an all-conference honorable mention last season, rounds out an impressive midfielder group.
The Griz also find themselves deep on defense with defender Ally Henrikson also making the all-conference preseason team. Senior Reeve Borseth returns after starting 17 games last season and reshirt senior Mia Parkhurst will have a chance to reclaim the starting spot she held for the first five matches of 2024 before she went down with an injury.
The loss of all-conference defender Charley Boone and the 2024 Big Sky co-Offensive MVP, Jen Estes, will sting, but their top-end talent remains unparalled to the rest of the conference.
Prediction: 2-2, Draw
Predicted non-conference record: 3-3-2
