TEMPE, Ariz. – The Washington State soccer team opened conference play, Sunday, with a 2-1 win over Arizona State at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. The Cougars (8-1-0) downed the Sun Devils (4-4-0), as WSU senior Kourtney Guetlein netted a pair of goals.

The Sunday morning match was a tale of two halves as Arizona State took 15 shots to Washington State's one in the opening 45 minutes. The Sun Devils put eight shots on frame, but redshirt-freshmen goalkeeper Ella Dederick stopped all of them. WSU and ASU entered the locker rooms tied, 0-0.

The Cougars adjusted at halftime and came out firing in the second half. In the 48th minute, sophomore Kelsee Crenshaw played a ball down the right side. Redshirt-senior Beau Bremer beat a Devil defender to play the ball in to an unmarked Guetlein, who tucked the ball in to the near post and gave WSU a 1-0 lead.

Guetlein earned her second goal in the 53rd minute. The Monument, Colo., native dispossessed ASU's McKenzie Berryhill at the top of the box before smashing it into the bottom right corner of the goal. The Sun Devils got a goal back in the 66th minute as Larisa Staub's shot dipped under the crossbar to cut WSU's lead in half. WSU was able to hold off ASU for the final 24 minutes and secure its second-consecutive conference-opening win.

“I'm so happy with this group of young ladies,” WSU Head Coach Todd Shulenberger said. “They showed a lot of resiliency today. They fought through the heat conditions out here. We took one on the chin in the first half, credit to Arizona State, but we made some adjustments and told them to settle down. Then we came out, did our thing, and scored two great goals.”

On the stat sheet, the Sun Devils outshot the Cougars, 24-6, with 10 shots on goal to WSU's three. Dederick made a career-high nine saves, including eight in the first half. WSU failed to earn a corner kick, while ASU took four from the flag. WSU sophomore Jordan Branch picked up a caution, as did fellow sophomore Kelsee Crenshaw.

The Cougars return to Pullman to welcome USC to Lower Soccer Field, Thursday, Oct. 1 for WSU's Pac-12 home opener. Washington State will host UCLA, Sunday, Oct. 4, with coverage on the Pac-12 Networks.

COUGAR NOTES

Senior Kourtney Guetlein earned her third and fourth goals of the season, making her the Cougars' leading goal scorer this season…redshirt-freshman Ella Dederick made a career-high nine saves…redshirt-freshman Allie Lawrence made her first-career appearance in the Crimson and Gray…WSU improved to 111-69-19 all-time in the month of September.