PULLMAN, Wash. – Three Washington State soccer freshmen student-athletes were named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Midseason Top 100 Freshmen list, released by the website last week.
Megan Santa Cruz (No. 23),
Reagan Kotschau (No. 41), and
Naomi Clark (No. 75) all earned spots in the midseason recognition list, marking the first time in program history with three freshmen on the list, since it began during the 2011 season.
Santa Cruz, a true freshman out of Burbank, Calif., has started all 14 matches this season and settled into a role in the attacking midfield. She scored her first career goal in the Cougars' win over San Diego State, Aug. 31. Santa Cruz's game-winning goal came in the fifth minute. She became the third freshman to net a goal, alongside Kotschau and Clark.
The SoCal standout also earned her first career assist in the Cougs' win at Arizona, Oct. 5, dishing the equalizer to senior
Margie Detrizio. Santa Cruz becomes the highest-ranking Cougar freshman on the annual midseason list since defensive standout
Mykiaa Minniss was named 10th in the 2018 midseason freshman list.
Fellow freshman
Reagan Kotschau has started all 14 games alongside Santa Cruz, tallying two goals and two assists, to earn the 41st spot on the national list. The Colorado native scored the game-winning goal in Wazzu's season opening victory over Eastern Washington, Aug. 17. Kotschau earned her debut assist, delivering a corner kick to the head of fifth-year senior
Bridget Rieken for the opening goal in the win over SDSU.
Kotschau, the reigning ECNL National Player of the Year, also found
Margie Detrizio in the Cougars' 2-1 win over Seattle U, Sept. 14. When the Cougars earned a come-from-behind victory at Arizona, Kotschau stepped to the penalty spot to deliver the game-winner in the 86th minute.
Naomi Clark rounds out the Cougars midseason national recognition at No. 75, while also scoring the most goals of any WSU freshman. Clark, a long-time teammate and competitor against Kotschau in Colorado youth soccer, has netted three goals in her debut season, appearing in all 13 matches. She scored in three of the first four matches, including the early equalizer in a 3-2 win at Texas A&M, Aug. 20. The Parker, Colorado freshman also scored in the season opener against Eastern Washington and in a dominate win over Weber State, Aug. 27.
Washington State returns to the pitch this Thursday, Oct. 19 for its final homestand of the regular season. The Cougars welcome the Colorado Buffaloes for a 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks from Lower Soccer Field in the annual "Pink Game."
