Rocky Mountain Hi
WASHINGTON STATE
at Denver | Thr., Sept. 16 | 7 p.m. MT | Denver Soccer Stadium
Watch Live | Denver Live Stream
Live Statistics | Sidearm Stats
OPENING XI
> The Cougs head to the Centennial State to finish off non-conference play beginning with Denver Thursday night, It marks the first meeting between the two teams since 2010.
> WSU has played two road games on the year and won both by the score of 3-0 including most recently at Kansas last Sunday in Lawrence.
> The defense has been up to the task in 2021 allowing just three goals while posting three shutouts on the season.
> 5th year Elyse Bennett lead the way offensively with four goals and a team-best 10 points. She ranks T9th all-time in goals (20) and T10th in points (50) for her career.
> The offense has scored 19 goals with 10 different players recording a goal.
> WSU's offense in five games ranks 3rd in shots per game (25.50), 2nd in corners (9.50 pg)and 22nd in scoring (3.17 goals pg).
> Junior Centerback Bridget Rieken has caught fire offensively scoring three goals (2 vs Hawaii, 1 at Kansas) in three games and recording a point in three-straight.
> 5th year Sydney Pulver moved into sole possession of 3rd all-time for games played having appeared in 83 total contests. The all-time record sits at 86. Her 76 starts is tied for 5th.
> Freshman Nadia Cooper became the first true freshman on Sunday to win her first career start since Lindsey Jorgensen defeated Portland State, 9-0, Sept. 24, 2000. It was also the last time a true freshman recorded a shutout in her first career start as a Coug.
> WSU was picked 5th by the Pac-12 coaches in the preseason poll marking the third-straight year picked in the top half of the conference.
> Under head coach Todd Shulenberger, the Cougs have gone 29-25-5 away from home (both away and neutral sites). WSU is 2-0-0 on the year.
COUGS VS PIONEERS
The Cougs close out non-conference play with two final games on the road beginning Thursday at Denver. The game marks the first time the two teams will meet not on neural ground and the first time the two sides will play since 2010 when the Pioneers took a 3-1 win over the Cougs in Spokane. All-time the teams have played even at 1-1-1 and with each team scoring five goals.
This season the Pioneers have been tough to beat sporting a 5-2-0 record with a +11 goal scoring advantage having netted 22 goals including a posting a 6-2 win over Northern Arizona last week.. Denver has already taken on a Pac-12 foe this season having dispatched Utah 3-0 on Aug. 26. Sydney Sharp leads the attack with 5 goals while Nerea Arrazola has allowed 10 goals in seven contests in net.
LAST TIME OUT
Wasting no time getting back to its winning ways Washington State (4-1-1) went to Kansas (4-3-1) and sounding defeated the Jayhawks, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at Rock Chalk Park. As they have done for much of the season the Cougars suffocated their opponents with a relentless attack, dominating at all three levels en route to their fourth cleansheet of the year. The Cougs scored twice in the opening half before putting the game away minutes into the second half with their third and final score.
TRIO OF FRESHMAN MAKING AN INSTANT IMPACT
Rounding out the Cougs depth around the pitch a trio of freshmen have made an immediate impact in Reese Tappan, Khalia Gathright, and Nadia Cooper. The newbies have found their place among the WSU defense with Tappan and Gathright finding time as outside backs with Cooper between the posts. Tappan wrapped up her high school career as a two-time state champion and two-time all-league selection at Liberty HS while Gathright was a club national champion while playing for SoCal Blue. Cooper was a stalwart in the US National Team system having been called up to the U17 National Team for multiple tournaments.
Tappan was the first of the three to earn a start finding her way into the first XI in the season opener while Gathright jumped into the mix in game two. Tappan has started 5 of 6 contests while Gathright has started 3 of 6.
Cooper picked up her first career start Sept. 12 at Kansas after appearing off the bench twice prior. She became the first true freshman to win her first career start since Lindsey Jorgensen defeated Portland State, 9-0, Sept. 24, 2000. It was also the last time a true freshman recorded a shutout in her first career start as a Coug.
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