Losing to Portland a week ago gave the Washington State women’s soccer team an important lesson in adversity, one they are prepared to apply Sunday in the team’s Pac-12 opener.

The Cougars (7-1-0) travel to Tempe, Arizona to face Arizona State (4-3-0), with the mindset of moving on from the 2-0 loss to the Pilots. The Sun Devils are also recovering from a 2-0 loss – to Oklahoma – which will undoubtedly add to the urgency of the game.

“You never want your team to lose, but I think going into Pac-12 play I’m super excited to see their response,” said WSU Head Coach Todd Shulenberger during his press conference on Wednesday. “They just have to bounce back. That’s our whole theme this week, bouncing back. If we won seven, why can’t we win eight?”

WSU senior forward Kourtney Guetlein is heading into her fourth game against the Sun Devils as a Cougar, but her first while playing for Shulenberger. She said that, while nobody likes to lose, it will be nice to not have the pressure of an undefeated season on the team heading into Pac-12 play.

“I wouldn’t say it’s nice to get it out of the way,” Guetlein said with a smile. “But if it were going to happen I’m glad it’s behind us and we can focus on Pac-12. Both teams – ASU and us – really need this win. This week in practice is all about fighting, what we’re going to do against ASU and pushing the loss behind us and moving forward.”

Shulenberger said his team needed to have a blue-collar style and mentality. For the Cougars to rebound from their loss to Portland and get off to a strong start in conference play, they’re going to need that mentality more than ever.

“We don’t like the feeling of losing,” WSU junior midfielder Nicolle Marlow said. “So now that we know what it feels like, we’re not going to want that again. Going into Pac-12 it gives us the extra grit and grind to work harder.”

The Cougars and Sun Devils kick off at 11 a.m. Sunday at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. The game can be seen on the Pac-12 Networks. Live stats for the match will be available on wsucougars.com.