PULLMAN, Wash. – Continuing their ascent as one of the premiere programs in the country, the Washington State soccer team is headed back to the postseason for the third-straight season and eighth time in nine years after being selected for an at-large bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Monday afternoon. WSU will host the Tigers of Memphis at Lower Soccer Field, Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. Last season the Cougars hosted Montana in the first round of the tournament, dismantling the Griz 5-1 to advance to the second round once again.

"They're a Washington State in a different conference, that's what is going to come down to," WSU Head Soccer Coach Todd Shulenberger said. "They're going to be athletic, they're going to be physical...we'll have to stretch ourselves even more, and it's going to be up-and-down, back-and-forth, high energy, and it's two teams that will want to get after it, so we're going to have to do our job defensively."

Memphis finished at the top of the American Athletic Conference during the regular season, compiling an overall record of 17-2-1, and finished 8-0-1 in conference play. The Tigers however dropped the AAC conference tournament final 2-0 to South Florida. The matchup Friday will be the first meeting between the Cougars and the Tigers, and will only be the third Pac-12 opponent ever faced by Memphis as well. Memphis returns to the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season, after being defeated by Wisconsin in the opening round in 2018. 

The Cougs finished the regular season 12-6-1 overall and moved as high as No. 14 in the rankings. Offensively, the Cougs put together one of the best seasons in program history, ending the regular season with 36 goals and 38 assists, ranking tied for the second most helpers in WSU single-season history. Leading the attack was star forward Morgan Weaver who scored 11 goals on the year including posting tying a single-game record with four goals against Colorado in the home regular season finale two weeks ago. In addition to the offense, the Cougars' defense produced seven shutouts on the year while allowing just 1.14 goals per game.

In the last two years, the Cougs have finished postseason play 2-2-1 overall while outscoring their opposition 8-5 in those five matches. In 2017, WSU advanced to the third round in the tournament for the first time in program history. Last season's win in round one marked the first time in program history the Cougars had won back-to-back first round games in program history. The team would bow out of the tournament with a 1-0 loss at No. 2 Georgetown in Washington D.C. in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

In all, the Cougs faced 11 teams in the tournament's field in 2019, eight of which are Pac-12 opponents. The 2019 College Cup will be held at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California on Friday, Dec. 6 and Sunday, Dec. 8.