NCAA

Cougar soccer snaps six-match losing streak to Arizona in conference opener

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Washington State (7-1-1, 1-0-0) ended a six-match losing streak to the Arizona Wildcats (3-4-0, 0-1-0) on Friday night with a dominate 2-0 victory at the Lower Soccer Field in Pullman, Wash. It was the Cougars fourth straight win.

Fifth year senior Elyse Bennett gave the Cougars an insurance goal in the 62th minute despite having a defender right at her side as she took the shot.

Bennett’s goal marked the end of a second half that had been more back and forth than the first. At times it got physical, as the Wildcats’ Jasmine Young was hit with a yellow card in the 52nd minute for unsporting behavior as she chased down a ball. It was the only yellow card issued by officials during the match.

The first goal of the match came when the Cougs capitalized on a corner kick in the 13th minute. Enzi Broussard tapped it in after the header on the inbound pass.

After the first goal game seemed to shift as Arizona took control of the ball. The Wildcats had a hand full of opportunities as the clock wound towards halftime but they were unable to capitalize.

Washington State has early control of the match as they controlled the ball for the first two minutes. It included a shot on goal by Bennett that forced the keeper to make an incredible diving save. That was the first of several missed opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the match.

Post match thoughts

  • Sydney Puliver tied Ali Fenter for most matches played in program history at 86. The fifth year senior is likely to break that record as the Cougs still have 10 matches left in the season.
  • WSU posted its seventh shutout of the season despite playing two different goalies at points this year. Fifth year senior Marissa Zucchetto made a couple of impressive saves to keep Arizona off of the scoreboard
  • The Cougars eight corner kicks gave them a lot of opportunities on the offensive end, they converted on one of them and that’s all they needed on Friday night.

Next up for the Cougars is Utah on Thursday, September 30th in Salt Lake City, Utah at 6:00 PM. That match will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks

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Photo Credit: Washington State University Athletics

Categories: NCAA, NCAA Soccer

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Published by Jessica Roberts

Proud alum of Washington State University, bisexual transwoman, disappointed baseball fan, and a member of #TeamBrownLiquor