Sept. 26, 1999

PULLMAN, Wash. -Washington State improved to 4-0 at home after blanking Gonzaga 4-0 on a cold and windy Sunday afternoon.

The Cougars controlled the ball most of the first half but had only one goal to show for it. Forward Deka DeWitt (Auburn, Wash.) put WSU on the board in the 30th minute collecting a pass from Christina Pallan (Las Vegas, Nev.) at the top of the 18. DeWitt hammered a shot into the net for the 1-0 lead.

"I thought we had two quality chances before that," said WSU coach Dan Tobias. "I felt the flow of play was definitely in our favor."

WSU kept the pressure on in the second half netting three goals, including two in a 3:10 span.

Pallan and DeWitt reversed rolls with Pallan's shot coming from the top of the 18 in the 56th minute.

Freshman Katrina Stroh (Federal Way, Wash.) took over from there scoring two goals. The first goal, at the 84:39 mark, was assisted by Ashley Honda (Vancouver, Wash). The second goal came after Brianne Carmody (Yakima, Wash.) fed Stroh a through ball in the box. Stroh took the goalie 1-on-1 and hit the ball into the left side of the net.

"Katrina to date, I think that was the most comfortable she has looked," Tobias said. "She is eight games into her freshman season. Up to this point, she was not as consistent playing with her back to the goal and today she did a good job playing balls off with the pressure and recognizing when the pressure is soft and she turns up field. She's dangerous when she does that."

The defense continues to look better after allowing seven goals last weekend at the Montana Diadora Cup. WSU allowed only seven shots, of which four were on net, allowing goalie Lindsey Jorgensen (North Bend, Wash.) to collect her school record-tying 10th career shutout.

"I think we did a good job disrupting Gonzaga," Tobias said. "They have some quality strikers. We didn't give them room to breathe."

Washington State will travel to Seattle this weekend to play in the Husky Nike Invitational. The Cougs will face Portland on Friday and UC Irvine on Sunday to close out the non-conference schedule.

"Two obviously quality teams," Tobias said. "Portland is a regular participant in the Final Four. They participated in the 1998 Final Four. Result-wise, they are not getting the results they normally get at this point in the season, but they have such a quality program and such quality players that it is going to be a tough match. UC Irvine was the Big West Conference runner-up. That is a good conference with a lot of good players."

NOTES Today's game marked the fourth time in the last five meetings WSU has shutout Gonzaga. During those games, WSU has outscored the Bulldogs 19-1...DeWitt moved into sixth-place tie for career assists with nine. Pallan moved into a tie for eighth place on the same list with her eighth assist...Jorgensen passed Jessica Glazer on WSU's all-time save leaders with 167 saves, moving her into second place. Jorgensen is 124 saves behind leader Natalie McDowell.

BOX SCORE

Team                    1      2      OT      OT      F

Gonzaga (2-7)           0      0       -       -      0

Washington State (5-3)  1      3       -       -      4

Scoring summary: First half-1, WSU, Deka DeWitt (Christina Pallan), 29:48. Second half-2, WSU, Pallan (DeWitt), 55:36. 3, WSU, Katrina Stroh (Ashley Honda), 84:39. 4, WSU, Stroh (Brianne Carmody), 87:48. Shots-Gonzaga 7 (Sara Streufert 3, Gabby McClintock 2, Katie Carpenter 1, Claire Whitfield 1), WSU 19 (DeWitt 5, Kristin Mak 4, Stroh 4, Jen Burrough 2, Honda 2, Pallan 1, Erin Cook 1). Corner kicks-Gonzaga 6, WSU 3. Goalie saves-Gonzaga 4 (Legaz 3, Eggen 1), WSU 4 (Jorgensen 4). Fouls-Gonzaga 15, WSU 14. Offsides-Gonzaga 2, WSU 0. Cautions/Ejections-none. Attendance-283.

-- GO COUGS--