The Cougars (4-5-5) hosted the Gonzaga Bulldogs Saturday for a West Coast Conference matchup that ended in a 1-1 draw. It was the fifth draw this season for the Cougs and the second in WCC play. The result was Gonzaga’s first tie of the year.

“Winning is hard. Don’t forget that and we got a tie… back to the drawing board on some simple stuff we need to correct,” head coach Todd Shulenberger said.

Through the first half, the Cougs were able to control the game, seeing shot after shot and ending the first half with seven shots. The lone goal for the Cougars came in the 30th minute off of a corner kick taken by Audrey Shackelford. Redshirt freshman Keira Mitchell was able to find the ball and head it into the back of the net to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the first half.

“Audrey gave me a really good service and I was able to finish it off,” Mitchell said. 

That was Shackelford’s third assist on the season and her second off of a corner. Mitchell was able to pick up her second goal of the season and she also has an assist this season. Mitchell played the last three games in a mask to protect a facial injury that was picked up against Seattle University on Sept. 24. 

“Honestly, the first practice that I had with it felt completely weird,” Mitchell said. “I had a few fumbles but I got used to it and then it honestly adds to the character and yeah it creates a great story. So honestly not that bad and everyone calls me batman now.”

Mitchell’s return has been a huge positive for the defense. Three Cougs have gone down on the defensive side of the ball already this season. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Kiera Fitzgerald went down on Sept. 18 against North Dakota State University from a non-contact injury. Fitzgerald is a year removed from an ACL tear that forced her to miss last season. Two of three captains for the Cougars have gone down, as redshirt senior Jenna Studer went down against UC Irvine on Sept. 14. Studer was named to the All-WCC preseason first team. Senior Peyton Price went down against Saint Mary’s on Oct. 8. They will all be out for the rest of the season. 

“We’ve gone through a lot of injuries, we’ve gone through a couple of our captains gone down, but the hasn’t stopped us,” Mitchell said. 

The lone captain left for the Cougars is senior Maggie Mace. Along with her on the defense is Mitchell, Brooke Brown, Alena Watts, Maizy Kluksdal and Ashle Reese. In goal the Cougars still have Zora Standifer who recorded four saves Saturday night. Through six games of conference play, the Cougs have allowed seven goals. Standifer has recorded one shutout in relief of Fitzgerald, coming against LMU on Oct. 11.

Coming out of the half, the Bulldogs were able to pressure early getting good looks at goal but were unable to convert any of the chances. In the 83rd minute, Gonzaga was able to find the back of the net as Alexis Parker scored to level it at 1-1.

“We lost the ball a lot in the second half for about 15-20 minutes, which I think slowed us down and that was probably the turning point of why we leaked a bad goal,” Shulenberger said.

Mitchell’s goal brought the total goals in conference play to nine goals in six games. The offense has been able to find its stride in conference play after struggling early in the season in non-conference play. Redshirt senior Jordyn Young led the way with four goals on the season. Behind her is Mitchell, Shackelford, Journey Middleborn and Abigail Siddal, each having two goals on the season. 

Physicality is a common theme when playing the Cougars. The Cougs ended the game with 14 fouls and three yellow cards; one shown to Mitchell in the 51st minute for a hard foul, Kluksdal in the 87th minute for unsporting and to Watts in the 90th minute for dissent. The Bulldogs were able to match the physicality, ending the game with 15 fouls and two yellow cards. The cards were shown to Shila Rasoul in the 39th minute for dissent and to Samatha Snorsky in the 41st minute for persistent infringement. 

With the draw on Saturday night, the Cougars are No. 4 in the WCC, tied with Santa Clara.