Washington State Soccer Week 5 Recap: Cougars Split Georgia Road Trip 1-1

After a pair of ties last week, Wazzu picked up a win against Georgia Southern and a loss against Georgia.

Sep 7, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars mascot Butch (right) and Washington State Cougars head coach Jake Dickert lead the football team into Gesa Field at Martin Stadium for a game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

Win vs Georgia Southern

After picking up two ties last week against UC San Diego and UC Irvine, the Washington State soccer team got back into the wins column with a 1-0 victory over Georgia Southern Thursday evening. Unfortunately, Wazzu followed that up with a rough 4-1 loss against Georgia, putting the team's overall record at 3-3-2, just a couple weeks out from the start of West Coast Conference play.

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In Thursday's match against Georgia Southern, Washington State dominated the first half, with the Cougars outshooting the Eagles 12-2, forcing 4 saves from Georgia Southern goalkeeper Katie Oakley. Despite that, WSU couldn't get on the scoreboard, and the game remained tied at the break.

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It didn't take long for the Cougars to break the stalemate, with the only goal of the game coming in the 51st minute. Alena Watts found Lindsey Turner in front of the goal, and Turner managed to slip the ball past Katie Oakley for the difference maker in the game.

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Loss to Georgia

In Sunday's matchup against Georgia, the Cougars held their own for much of the first half. Washington State matched the Bulldogs shot for shot for the first 40 minutes of the game, but late in the period Georgia finally got one past Nadia Cooper for a 1-0 halftime lead.

The second half was all Georgia. It took the Bulldogs less than a minute to double their lead, with Dasia Torbert picking up her first goal of the game with the help of Summer Denigan. The Bulldogs controlled possession for most of the second half, but in the 70th minute the Cougars made the most of one of the few opportunities they were handed.

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Washington State's Naomi Clark managed to pick up a goal kick from Georgia's keeper Jordan Brown, and fed the ball to Nathalie Lewis near the goal. Lewis managed to fake out a defender, and then slipped the ball past another couple of defenders, and past Brown, for the Cougars only goal of the day, and her first goal as a Coug.

70' - WAZZU GOOOALL! Nat Lewis scores her first career goal and the Cougs claw one back at Georgia. Reagan Kotschau with team-best third assist this year, and Clark gets her second on the nice lay off.

WSU 1-2 UGA#GoCougs // #AgainstTheGrain // 📺SECN+ pic.twitter.com/o7abMr5JyQ

— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 15, 2024

While that goal could have sparked a Wazzu come back, it wasn't meant to be. Georgia reestablished control of the game and slammed the door shut in the final 10 minutes. Margie Detrizio scored Georgia's third goal in the 82nd minute, and Dasia Torbert found the net for the second time in the 87th, for a 4-1 Georgia margin of victory. The Cougars were outshot 15-4 in the second half, hard to make a comeback with that kind of imbalance.

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The Cougars have one final game before conference play gets started. Thursday, September 19th, they'll travel to Logan to take on Utah State, currently ranked 7th nationally. The Aggies have been the Mountain West top team so far this season, with an 8-0 record that includes wins over some big names, including in state rivals BYU and Utah. This should be a big challenge for Washington State.