In Case You Missed It
PULLMAN – On a cold, wet, and sloppy night at Lower Soccer Field, #21 Washington State (8-1-0, 1-0-0) found a way to rally in the second half to down the previously unbeaten Oregon State Beavers (8-1-0, 0-1-0), 2-1, on the opening night of Pac-12 play for both sides. After falling behind in the first 45 minutes the Cougars were able to push the action in the second half to score a pair of goals in just over five minutes of game time to turn a tough night into a victory on their home field. As she has done throughout her career,
Morgan Weaver was the catalyst to the Cougars' comeback as the senior star forced the action in the final 45 minutes, setting up both WSU goals for her team. In the 68', Weaver beat her defender into the box, made a quick turn at the corner of the 18 and fired towards goal. The suddenness of her action caught the Oregon State defense off guard as Weavers' shot struck the outstretched arm of her defender forcing the center ref to make a call that resulted in a penalty kick for the Cougs. While Weaver drew the infraction it was
Averie Collins who stepped to the spot where the battle-tested veteran calmly slotted home the equalizer. After nearly giving the goal back just seconds later off the restart, the Cougars went back into attack mode, grabbing the lead for good just five minutes later in the 73' on the combination play of Weaver and Gomera-Stevens. Breaking down the defense, Weaver found Gomera-Stevens just inside the 18 and let the junior do her thing. With the ball at her feet, Gomera-Stevens faked out the only defender between her and the goal with a deft touch to the left before beating the Beavers' keeper far side with a sliding shot on the wet grass. The Cougars' would make the Gomera-Stevens goal stick with a possession game the rest of way, holding off the Beavers' advances to grab the win.
The two Cougar goals were necessary for the victory due to a first half goal by the Beavers McKenzie Weinert. Weinert took advantage of a ball played over the top by Sydney Studer as the Beaver defender played a clearing ball deep that skipped off a Cougar defender's head and behind the back line. Racing her way into the scoring area, Weinert was able to beat Cougar keeper
Ella Dederick to the ball and with a dribble found herself free to knock in the opening goal of the game. Dederick had come out in an attempt to stop the rush but could not get to the ball in time to stop Weinert. Despite the goal given up, Dederick would settle her team and finish off the game with four saves to earn her program record 45th victory in net at WSU.
Stat Of The Match
The Cougars won their fourth-straight one-goal contest with their last six matches being decided by one-goal.
The Moments That Made The Match
Things You Need To Know
- The Cougars began Pac-12 play with a win for the second-straight season while improving to 8-1-0 on the year.
- The win over the Beavers was the Cougars fourth in the last five meetings and improved their overall record against Oregon State 16-10-3.
- The comeback victory was WSU's first since falling behind Cal on Oct. 25, 2018. WSU went on to beat the Bears 4-2.
- The win was the first for the Cougs after trailing at half in 2019 and first since rebounding from a one-goal deficit against the Beavers on Oct. 27, 2016 to win 2-1. The Cougars did rebound from a one-goal deficit against Tennessee in the 2017 NCAA tournament to force a draw from which WSU advanced to the third-round of the tournament on PKs.
- Ella Dederick became WSU's all-time leader in wins with her 45th victory in goal. Her win broke a tie with all-time great Gurveen Clair (2011-14). In addition, Dederick moved into fourth place all-time in saves with 250 after the contest, moving past Katie Hultin (2002-05).three penalties in three contests. The goal was her fifth of the year.
- Averie Collins PK was her second of the season and fourth for the Cougars. WSU began the year with three penalties in three contests.
- Makamae Gomera-Stevens scored her second goal of the season and first game-winning goal. She became the seventh Cougar with a game-winning goal on the year in eight victories.
- WSU outshot its opponent for the ninth time on the season with 21 shots to Oregon State's eight while putting seven on frame.
- The Cougars head to California to take on No. 2 Stanford Thursday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
