Cougars claw Grizzlies

Weaver scores back to back goals early in the game, Frimpong-Ellertson opens second half with 68 second goal

Graduate+midfielder+Averie+Collins+protects+the+ball+from+Montana+junior+forward+Alexa+Coyle+Friday+at+the+Lower+Soccer+Field+in+Pullman.

SERENA HOFDAHL | THE DAILY EVERGREEN

Graduate midfielder Averie Collins protects the ball from Montana junior forward Alexa Coyle Friday at the Lower Soccer Field in Pullman.

RYAN ROOT, Evergreen reporter

No. 23 WSU soccer defeated the Montana Grizzlies 6-0 in the home opener Friday night at the Lower Soccer Field in Pullman.

Senior forward Morgan Weaver put the Cougars (2-0-0, 0-0-0) on the board first by scoring under four minutes into the game. About seven minutes later, she found her second goal of the game. Junior forward Makamae Gomera-Stevens found Weaver on both goals.

During the first half, junior defender Hanna Goff added another goal to the WSU off an assist from junior defender Brianna Alger, last week’s Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.

The WSU fans did not have to wait long for the Cougars to score in the second half. Freshman forward MacKenzie Frimpong-Ellertson made it a 4-0 game in 68 seconds.

Graduate midfielder Averie Collins and senior forward Katie Jones also scored on the Grizzlies (0-1-2, 0-0-0) during the second half.

Collins and Frimpong-Ellertson scored their first goals on Cougar soil. For Jones, this was her first goal since her freshman season in 2016.

“It feels awesome, I’ve dreamed of this since I was a kid,” Frimpong-Ellertson said.

Sophomore forward Molly Myers came in for Weaver after she collided with a Montana player shortly after her second goal. Weaver returned to play at the start of the second half.

“Just a little header,” Weaver said, shrugging it off with a smile on her face.

The Cougar defense held the Grizzlies to three shots with one of them on goal during the shutout. WSU graduate goalkeeper Ella Dederick recorded her 22nd career shutout and 39th career win.

The Cougars face James Madison University to finish off their back-to-back home games at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Lower Soccer Field.