WASHINGTON STATE
at San Diego State
 | Fri., Aug. 16 | 7 p.m.
 Live Statistics | WSUCougars.com
OPENING XI
> Washington State plays its one and only exhibition match of the year on the road at San Diego State. The two teams have not played in the regular season since 1996, the last of four meetings between the two team.
> WSU spent the preseason in San Deigo last season as well, defeating the University of San Diego, 2-1, in exhibition play before the start of the 2018 season.
> The Cougars finished the 2018 campaign 13-6-1 overall with a second round exit from the NCAA Tournament against #1 Georgetown.
>Â The 13 wins on the year for the Cougs marked the third-most wins in a single season for WSU. The second round appearance marked the first time in program history WSU won its first round game in back-to-back seasons.
> WSU rose as high as #7 in the country in the USC poll on the strength of a perfect 10-0 start to the year. Both the ranking and the start were program records for the Cougars.
> Eight of WSU's 11 starters return for 2019 headlined by captains
Morgan Weaver up top and
Ella Dederick in goal. Additionally, sophomore
Mykiaa Minniss returns to lead the defense after earning Pac-12 All-Freshman honors and in TopdrawerSoccer.com was ranked No. 10 on the Top 100 Freshmen list as well as earning a spot on the Freshmen Best XI First Team.
>
Morgan Weaver, fresh off a career year and a first team all-region selection was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List as one of the top players in the country.
> As a team, WSU scored 41 goals in 2018, the sixth most in single-season history. Weaver led the way with a career-best 13 goals.
> Defensively, WSU allowed 23 goals and posted five shutouts. Dederick was 5-0 on the year with 2.5 shutouts before suffering a season-ending knee injury. WSU has an elite squad of keepers heading into the year with Dederick and fifth-year senior
Rachel Johnson, who was a two-time Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week in 2018, between the posts.
> In addition to the returning players WSU welcomed 10 new faces led by grad transfer
Averie Collins from Stanford. Collins won a national title with the Cardinal in 2017.
> WSU was picked to finish fourth in the Preseason Pac-12 Coaches Poll, the highest preseason pick for the Cougars in program history.
SOCCER SELECTED FOURTH BY PAC-12 COACHES
Coming off one of their most successful seasons in program history, the Washington State soccer team caught the attention of the coaches in the Pac-12 Conference as the Cougars were picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches poll as announced by the conference office Tuesday morning. The fourth place pick marks the highest preseason ranking for the Cougars in the preseason poll. Stanford, the four-time defending conference champions, were picked to take the title for a record fifth-consecutive season after receiving seven first-place votes. UCLA came in just behind the Cardinal in the poll after picking up the remaining five first-place votes.
WEAVER ONE TO WATCH
Coming off of a career year, senior
Morgan Weaver put her name among the best in the nation as the Washington State star was named to the watch list for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy. Weaver became the first Cougar in program history to be named to the preseason watch list. The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious award in collegiate soccer and is awarded to United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year in NCAA Division I soccer. The Missouri Athletic Club has been presenting college soccer's player of the year awards since 1986. The Pac-12 placed nine on the list including 2018 winner, Stanford's Catarina Macario.
IN THEÂ TWITTERVERSE
FOLLOW THE COUGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALL SEASON LONGÂ
Get all the info, photos, and videos a true Coug Fan could want by following the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @WSUCougarSoccer.
