The Cougars suffered a 2-1 loss against the Santa Clara Broncos last Saturday.
The game featured many controversial moments. In the 68th minute, WSU goalkeeper Zora Standfier went to collect a ball that was outside of the box. Immediately, the ref blew his whistle and gave Standifer a red card for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. WSU head coach Todd Shulenberger called for a review, which led the ref to take the card back. After talking with both coaches, the red card was reissued to Standifer.
The Broncos were able to concede a penalty in the 74th minute. They were able to score, tying the game 1-1. In the 82nd minute, Leah O’Brien was able to score another for the Broncos, giving them the lead and the win. This puts the Cougars at 1-1 in West Coast Conference play.
Shulenberger also picked up a yellow card after his discussion with the ref. 14 minutes later, he picked up his second yellow. Turning into a red, leading to his removal from the game. He will be unavailable to coach the Cougars against San Diego.
The Cougars will look to assistants Emily Marcouiller and Mason Portalski to take over for the Cougars.
“I got a great staff, I thought over the years, we’ve had nothing but coaches that have either been a head coach or want to be a head coach, I’m not worried. Mason Emily will do a great job,” said Shulenberger.
Emily Marcouiller has been with the program since 2023. She was the interim head coach in the 2019 season for Spring Hill. Mason Portalski is in his first season with the Cougars. Portalski is a WSU grad and at WSU, he served as a volunteer coach for the team. Before WSU, he was an assistant coach at Army, also serving as the goalkeeping coach.
With the Cougars going down to ten after the red card, the Cougars turned to freshman Sidney Venier in goal. She was set to redshirt this season but is no longer able to, due to making an appearance.,leaving her with three years of eligibility left in her college career. In her 21 minutes of action, she was able to make four saves.
“Sidney will get her shot on Saturday night and we have all the confidence in the world in that young lady. She’s brought here for a reason and she’ll do great,” said Shulenberger.
The Cougars are already on their second goalkeeper after starting goalkeeper Kiera Fitzgerald went down, suffering a season-ending injury against North Dakota State University. The Cougars have dealt with multiple defensive injuries this season. Redshirt fifth-year and team captain Jenna Studer suffered a season-ending injury against UC Irvine. Studer was named to the preseason All-WCC first team. Redshirt freshman Keira Mitchell went down against Seattle-U. Her exact status is unknown, but she did not play against Santa Clara.
The Cougars’ strong suit is defense. During non-conference play, the Cougars only allowed one multi-goal game, a 2-0 loss against UC Irvine. Recently, the Cougars’ defense has been allowing goals. Through two games in WCC play, the Cougars have allowed for back-to-back multi-goal games, allowing two goals to be scored against Seattle-U and Santa Clara.
The defense is led by the captain duo, Maggie Mace and Peyton Price. On the wings defensively, junior Alena Watts, grad student Brooke Brown and freshman Ashle Reese are big contributors to the back line as well.
The Cougars are without two key pieces against San Diego. The Cougars take on the Toreros on Saturday, Oct. 4, in San Diego. The Toreros have scored 16 goals on the year, seeing two players tied for leading goal scorer, with two each having four goals. Defensively, San Diego has allowed 17 goals on the year.
Offensively, the Cougars have been able to find their identity. During non-conference play, the Cougars struggled to find goals. Only scored five goals through seven games. In two games through conference play, the Cougars have already scored five goals. Seeing four goals against Seattle-U.
“I think we’ve really been improving on the offensive and getting more chances, and we finished ours today,” said redshirt senior Jordyn Young against Santa Clara.
Sophomore Audrey Shackelford, Young and graduate student Abigail Siddall have led the Cougars in scoring, with each having two goals. There are four Cougars that have one goal each. Freshman Isabelle Wright leads the team in assists, having three on the season. Additionally, five Cougars each have an assist on the season.
“We’re doing a good job in possession. And we’re going to continue to thrive, that’s who we are right now as that team is and really enjoying our forwards, what they’re starting to do and bring out there. Just got to keep the ball more in the final third and we’ll see where this goes,” Said Shulenberger.
The Cougars take on the San Diego Toreros at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, in San Diego.
