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Washington State Soccer Week 2 Recap: Cougars Pick Up a Pair of Wins in Pullman

After opening the season with a loss on the road against Purdue, Washington State soccer picked up a pair of wins at home in Pullman with a 3-0 defeat of Montana and a 2-1 victory over Idaho.

John Severs

Nov 5, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; Washington State Cougars mascot Butch T. Cougar runs on the field with a flag before the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; Washington State Cougars mascot Butch T. Cougar runs on the field with a flag before the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

After a tough loss on the road against Purdue, Washington State returned to Pullman and bounced back with victories over Montana and Idaho. With the pair of wins the Cougars now stand at 2-1 on the season.

RELATED: Washington State Soccer Week 1 Recap: Cougars Drop Season Opener to Purdue 1-0

First up was Montana, last Thursday. Unlike the game against Purdue, the Cougars controlled the flow of the game, with almost all of the action taking place in front of Montana's goal. The Cougars outshot the Grizzlies 20 to 5. The Cougars first goal came in the 22nd minute. Reese Tappan cauthgt a corner kick from Maggie Mace with her head, getting the ball to Reagan Kotschau for the first Cougar goal of the season.

WSU added another goal in the 40th minute, with Kendall St. Campbell getting her first goal as a Cougar with an assist from Ashly Berge. Washington State's final goal came late in the game, with Raniyah Burton finding the bottom left corner of the goal in the 82nd minute to give the cougars a 3-0 win.

RELATED: Washington State Soccer Picked Second in WCC Coaches Poll Ahead of 2024 Campaign

On Sunday Washington State faced off against Idaho, and while the Vandals put up a better fight than the Grizzlies this game was still all Cougars. WSU outshot Idaho 24-1, with 12 shots on goal. Idaho's goalkeeper Paula Flores put up a heroic effort, with 10 saves, but there's only so much you can do against that heavy an onslaught.

Jenna Studer scored the first goal for Washington State in the 29th minute, picking up the rebound after Flores deflected a Reese Tappan header. At the start of the second half, Idaho tied the game up when Margo Schoesler managed to get a shot past Nadia Cooper in the one shot on goal the Vandals managed Sunday night.

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The deciding goal came in the 70th minute. After a Reagan Kotschau corner kick, Juliana Duckett slipped the ball through a crowd, catching Flores out of position and giving the Cougars a 2-1 lead they'd hold on to for the rest of the game.

One of the things that really stands out about Washington State's victories this week is how balanced the team looks. 5 different players scored goals, 5 different players contributed assists. For her 5 save game against Montana Nadia Cooper was named WCC Defensive Player of the Week. Every part of the Cougars' game looked great last weekend.

Washington State only has one game next weekend, but its a big one. The Cougars will travel to Stanford to take on their old Pac-12 rival on Sunday, September 1st. Stanford has long been one of the country's top programs, and they're 4-0 so far this season. This will be quite the challenge.

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John Severs

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.

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