SEATTLE – The Washington State women's soccer team defeated the Washington Huskies, 3-1, at Husky Soccer Field, Thursday evening. After Washington scored in the 11th minute, WSU equalized in the 16th minute before adding a second and third goal in the 27th and 83rd minutes, respectively. The Cougars (14-5-0, 7-4-0) have not lost to the Huskies (12-6-2, 5-5-1) in the last 12 meetings between the schools.

The Cougars were led by goal scorers Kaitlyn Johnson, Cara Wegner, and Kelsee Crenshaw, who scored her first-career goal, with assists from Sofia Anker-Kofoed and goalkeeper Ella Dederick. The Huskies outshot the Cougars 19-12 in the match, but only managed to put seven shots on target, while WSU put 8-of-12 looks on frame. Redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Ella Dederick made six saves in the match, in addition to recording her first-career assist.

“We came in here, in a hostile environment, and scored three great goals,” WSU Head Coach Todd Shulenberger said. “Credit to Washington. They are a great soccer team and they belong in the NCAA Tournament, but we did our job and caught them on the counter a couple times.”

The Huskies were first to score as Kelcie Hedge volleyed home a cross from Dom Bond-Flasza in the 11th minute. Hedge smashed the shot past Dederick from seven yards out to give Washington the lead.

Washington State would equalize just six minutes later when junior Kaitlyn Johnson capitalized on an error from the Huskies' goalkeeper, Megan Kufeld. As Johnson pressed into UW's defending third, Kufeld looked to play a ball out of danger to her right back, but Johnson stepped in to cut the pass off. With Kufeld well off her line, Johnson passed the ball into the open net from 14 yards out. The goal was Johnson's team-leading seventh goal of the season, and tied her for second-most goals in the Pac-12 Conference this season.

The Cougars continued to press for the next 10 minutes as they opened up the midfield. Late in the 25th minute, sophomore Sofia Anker-Kofoed played a through ball straight up the middle of the field to senior Cara Wegner. The senior ran on to the pass at the top of the penalty area, split two defenders and chipped Kufeld to give WSU the 2-1 lead.

Entering the break with a lead, WSU extended its winning streak when leading at halftime to a school-record 34 matches. The Cougars have not lost when leading at halftime since Oct. 29, 2010.

Sophomore Kelsee Crenshaw would add an insurance goal for the Cougars in the 83rd minute. With the Huskies pressing hard for the equalizing goal, WSU bunkered into its own third and took opportunities to counter. After Dederick came off her line to collect a cross, she punted the ball nearly 70 yards into WSU's attacking third. Crenshaw ran down the ball, took a touch to beat her defender, and smashed a shot into the lower left corner from 21 yards out. The goal was Crenshaw's first of her career, while Dederick was credited with the assist, the first of her career.

Washington State entered the match No. 30 in the NCAA RPI and expects to hear its name called when the Division I Soccer Championship selections are announced Monday. The Cougars are seeking a fifth-straight trip to the postseason, a first for the program, and their seventh in the last eight seasons.

“We're hungry right now and we're good on the road,” Shulenberger said. “I'm happy with this. I look forward to Monday to see what our future holds. These women are committed all around, but there's something special with this group here.”

The NCAA selection show begins at 1:30 p.m. and will stream live on NCAA.com.

COUGAR NOTES

Junior Kaitlyn Johnson scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season, and 11th-career goal…Johnson is currently tied for second for most goals in the Pac-12 Conference…senior Cara Wegner scored her fifth goal of the season, and the seventh game-winning goal of her career, moving in to a tie for fifth place on the WSU all-time list…sophomore Sofia Anker-Kofoed tallied her fourth assist of the season…sophomore Kelsee Crenshaw scored her first-career goal…redshirt-freshman Ella Dederick recorded her first-career assist…Dederick's assist was the third by a goalkeeper in school history (Lindsay Parlee at UCLA, Oct. 10, 2008 and Gurveen Clair vs. Colorad, Oct. 9, 2011)…Washington State finished the regular season 9-1 on the road and undefeated in conference-away matches (6-0)…the Cougars extended their school-record streak to 34 matches when leading at halftime…WSU has not lost when leading at halftime since Oct. 29, 2010…Washington State is 8-0 this season when committing more fouls than its opponent…the Cougars improved to 12-7-6 all-time against Washington and have not lost to the Huskies in 12 years (8-0-4)…WSU improved 27-33-8 all-time in the month of November.