Cougars close out regular season against in-state rival UW

WSU senior forward Amy Neal scored the lone goal for WSU on Sunday against UO.

The WSU women’s soccer team hosts its final game against the University of Washington on Thursday.

The rivalry game closes out regular season play for the Cougars, as the team is not in position to qualify for the postseason.

The game will also be a farewell to the eight seniors on the team who will play for the last time in their collegiate careers.

“It’s our last home game and our last game of the season, so we’re just trying to go out and get a result,” redshirt senior defender Jazmin Jones said. “I’ve grown with my class and it’s been nice to finish off this last season with them.”

WSU has either won or tied in its last 12 matches against UW dating back to 2004. The Cougars are 12-7-6 in their all-time series against the Huskies, and are looking to continue the streak this week.

The Cougars defeated the Huskies 3-1 in Seattle in last season’s meeting. Senior forward Kaitlyn Johnson, junior defender Kelsee Crenshaw and former senior forward Cara Wegner each put a goal on the board for WSU in the match.

The Huskies are 2-8-0 in Pac-12 play, earning two wins over the University of Arizona and last week against rival University of Oregon.  The Huskies most recently lost to Oregon State 1-0 on Sunday.

WSU bumped up its record with a win and a draw in last weekend’s set of matches. The Cougars rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit against the Beavers on Oct. 27 with two goals to pull out a 2-1 victory.

Sunday saw a fierce matchup between WSU and UO, with both teams drawing multiple foul calls and yellow cards. The Ducks scored early in the match, pulling out ahead 1-0 in the 18th minute of play. The Cougars had multiple shots on goal in the first half but saw the majority clang against the crossbar.

In the 73rd minute, senior forward Amy Neal followed a pass from Johnson across the goalie box to net her first career goal for WSU. The goal tied the game and sent the teams into overtime.

“I told her [Neal] she will get one before she left here, and I should have said two,” Head Coach Todd Shulenberger said. “I’m glad that these seniors got in and Kaito got another, Kai got another and Amy got her first.”

Neither team converted shots in either period and the game ended at a 1-1 draw in double overtime.

Thursday’s contest kicks off at 7 p.m. at Lower Soccer Field. The match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.