In Case You Missed It
SPOKANE, Wash. – In the blink of an eye the thriller at Luger Field was over as
Averie Collins lifted the No. 17 Cougars (4-0-0) to a golden, 1-0, finish in overtime over Gonzaga (3-2-0), Thursday night in Spokane, Wash. For 90 minutes Washington State peppered the Zags' defense only to be denied time and time again by the play of Isabel Jones in goal for the Bulldogs forcing the Cougars to play in extra time for the first time in 2019. Despite the frustration of regulation the Cougars would not be denied thanks to the individual brilliance of Collins. Stealing the first pass from center, Collins raced up the field initially looking to play the ball wide to setup the offense. When no defender stepped to challenge her run, Collins ripped a left-footed laser from 22-yards out, past Jones and into the back of the net for the golden goal.
The goal by Collins came officially just :09 seconds into the extra period ending a night that saw the top-ranked Cougar offense held scoreless through regulation despite firing off 24 shots to the Zags' nine. Throughout the contest the Cougars pressed the attack only to see Jones come up with seven big saves, even getting some help from the goal frame late that denied a header by freshman
MacKenzie Frimpong-Ellertson the goal she was searching for. While the Cougar attack pressed forward the Zags were able to punch back, forcing super-senior
Ella Dederick to come up with a season-high four saves including two tough looks in the opening half. The Zags best chance of the night came in the game's final minutes when a missed clearance forced the Cougars' to scramble only to watch the shot sail harmlessly wide. Despite the counters, the Cougars defensive back-four as well as the midfield came up with the plays needed, filling in behind one another in a fluid rotation to pitch the Cougs' third shutout of the year.
Shulenberger Quote of the Match
"We knew it was going to be a tough match. They're a great team, he's (Coach Watkins) has done a great job with them. Their goalkeeper was fantastic, I think we had 26 shots (24 officially), but she had three or four (saves) that were fantastic. They're hard, they're tough, we knew it, this was a Pac-12 level game we felt like on the road with a hostile crowd and we're very proud of the group. And Averie, what a goal she had tonight."
The Moments That Made The Match
Things You Need To Know
- The win for Washington State marked the 300th victory in program history.
- The Cougs' improved to 24-1-1 all-time against Gonzaga, avenging their lone loss to the Bulldogs in the last meeting between the two teams back in 2016.
- The overtime contest was the first of the season for WSU after playing three in 2018. The Cougars went 1-1-1 in three overtime games last season, the last being a 1-1 draw with No. 1 Stanford in Pullman.
- Averie Collins scored her team-best fourth goal on the year and second game-winning goal of the year. The game-winner was the fifth of her career, three coming at Stanford, including a golden goal strike against her very own Cougars in overtime in 2016.
- WSU improved to 15-0-1 in non-conference play since their last loss back in 2017 at Santa Clara.
- The Cougars' 17 goals scored in the first four games of the year is the second-most in program history, one shy of the 18 goals scored to start the 1991 season.
- The Cougars are back in action Friday, Sept. 13Â when host Michigan as part of the Cougar Classic. The game is scheduled for 7 pm on the Pac-12 Networks.
