Washington State Soccer Ends Season With 5-0 Win Over Pacific: What's Next?

While it had some bright moments, this will go down as a season of missed opportunities for the Cougars. Despite that, the team delivered one last dominant win to send off their seniors in style.

John Severs | Nov 15, 2024

Sep 7, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars mascot Butch poses for a photo with Chase a Golden Retriever outside Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

Washington State finished up their soccer season last weekend, picking up a final, dominant win over the Pacific Tigers a few days after they took down former Pac-12 rival Oregon State. Unfortunately for the Cougars, finishing the season strong wasn't enough to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Washington State scored within the first minute in their match against Pacific, Raniyah Burton finding the bottom left of the goal after an assist from Jenna Studer. After that, the game played out like the ideal Cougar game. Two goals from Megan Santa Cruz and one from Grayson Lynch, the duo who have been lighting up scoreboards all season long. Capping off with one final goal from 5th year senior Lindsey Turner, her final goal as a Cougar.

It was also a standout game defensively from WSU. The Cougars outshot the Tigers 23-6, while goalkeepers Nadia Cooper and Liya Brooks combined for three saves to keep a clean sheet. It was a whistle to whistle showcase of all that Washington State was capable of this season.

It's a shame we won't see more of this team. Washington State struggled too much early in the season, and early in their WCC schedule, to make a strong case for postseason play. WSU finished 100 in the RPI rankings which is not close to cutting it. Despite pulling off ties against strong teams like Utah State and Santa Clara, the Cougars never picked up a great win.

The Cougars are going to lose some big names to graduation. The biggest is Grayson Lynch, who had five points against Pacific (a goal and three assists) and had 13 points this season. Lynch has been the lynchpin of the Washington State offense for the past 4 years, and the team will miss her dearly.

The good news for Cougar fans is that a lot of the other big names on this team are still young, so if head coach Todd Shulenberger can keep the band together, Washington State should be able to contend for a WCC title next season. Megan Santa Cruz and Reagan Kotschau have proven themselves to be stars capable to taking over a game, and while she got limited time in goal this seaosn, Liya Brooks has shown she's capable of taking over the full time job.

There's a lot of promise on this team. For now, we'll have to wait and see how it develops.

Published Nov 15, 2024

JOHN SEVERS

Having grown up in Pocatello, home of the Idaho State Bengals, John Severs is a lifelong fan of small schools that don't always deliver a lot of wins. Prior to writing for Sports Illustrated, John covered the Beavers for SB Nation's Oregon State blog Building the Dam, with a focus on baseball and women's basketball. When he's not watching college sports he spends most of his time reading, playing video games and annoying cats.