The WSU women’s soccer team will host the Seattle University Redhawks on Thursday at Lower Soccer Field.

The two teams played in August last year in both teams’ season-opener where the Cougars (3-2-1) found success off of corner kicks, converting two of them into goals in the first 10 minutes of play. WSU went on to win 3-1.

Redshirt senior defender Susie White and sophomore defender Grace Hancock were both able to score off of assists made by senior forward Kaitlyn Johnson to put the match in hand early on. Then-freshman forward Tia Gavin put another goal on the board for the Cougars in the 38th minute of the match.

The Cougars are gradually gaining momentum after a rocky start to their season. Having not lost since a 1-0 defeat at Gonzaga on Aug. 28, WSU improved its record after a pair of weekend wins against University of Montana and North Dakota State on Sept. 2 and 4 respectively. A physical battle against the Texas Christian University (TCU) team last Friday resulted in the first draw of the year for WSU with a score of 1-1.

WSU will be playing without a key player on Thursday after Johnson’s red card and subsequent ejection from Friday’s match against the Horned Frogs. Johnson received two yellow cards in the match, which resulted in a red card and forced the Cougars to play with only ten players on the pitch for the remainder of the contest.

Freshman forward Morgan Weaver has spearheaded an increase in the Cougar’s offensive output, scoring four goals in the last two games.

The Redhawks are carrying a 2-3-1 record into Thursday’s match. The team competed in a tournament at Boise State University on Aug. 26-28 where they took down the host Broncos 1-0. The Redhawks fell 1-0 to San Jose State University two days later in the second of two matches played in the tournament

Seattle U also competed in the Husky Nike Invitational the first weekend in September, where they faced the University of Portland in their first match. The Redhawks outshot the Pilots 15-4, but only converted one of those shots into a goal and the game ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw. A 1-0 loss to the host Washington Huskies followed.

With redshirt freshman Ashley Routh in the goal, the Redhawks have allowed one goal or less in all but one match this season. Routh has a .667 save percentage and has only given up five goals on the season.

For the Cougars to prevent Seattle U from scoring, their key will be to shut down senior forward and transfer Brie Hooks, who has scored all of the team’s four goals for the year.

The action will start at 5 p.m. Friday at the Lower Soccer Field and can be followed at wsucougars.com on WSU Live Stream.

Reporting by Payton Dineen.