Musuai Isaia punts the ball away against Kansas
Bob Hubner, Washington State University

Cougs Host Seattle for In-State Showdown

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#24/19 Washington State (6-1-0)
vs Seattle U (2-5-1)
Thursday, Sept. 14 // 7 p.m. PT // Pullman, Wash. // Lower Soccer Field
Television » Pac-12 Washington // Play-by-Play » Greg Talbott
Live Stats » wsu.statbroadcast.com

STARTING ELEVEN
I. The Cougars conclude the nonconference season hosting Seattle U, Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. at Lower Soccer Field
II. Last weekend, Wazzu beat Kansas, 1-0, Sunday afternoon thanks to a late first-half goal from Rajanah Reed
III. WSU enters the week at No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 19 in the College Soccer News rankings
IV. Margie Detrizio has rocketed into the WSU record book with 20 career goals (t-10th), 14 career assists (t-8th), and 54 total career points (10th)
V. WSU holds a 16-2-0 record against the Redhawks and a 6-1-0 record under Coach Shulenberger against Seattle
VI. Last season in Seattle, then-junior Jenna Studer scored her first and only goal of the year with 45 seconds remaining to give WSU a 2-1 win
VII. Head Coach Todd Shulenberger returned for his ninth season at the helm of the Cougar program, holding the school's all-time wins record (95) and five victories shy of 100 wins with a .637 winning percentage
VIII. The Cougars completed August with an unblemished record, the 11th time in program history with nothing but wins in the calendar month and the fourth time with a perfect August schedule under Coach Shulenberger
IX. Musuai Isaia made her first career appearance in Sunday's win over Kansas, starting in goal for the Cougars, where the redshirt-junior made two saves and earned her first career cleansheet and the second of the year for WSU
X. WSU ranks fifth nationally in corner kick opportunities, as the Cougs generate over eight corner kicks per game with 8.57
XI. Naomi Clark made her first collegiate start in Sunday's win, and leads WSU with three goals this year, tied for sixth in the Pac-12 and three goals back in the Conference's golden boot race   

COUGARS VS REDHAWKS
No. 15 Washington State welcomes the Redhawks of Seattle U to Lower Soccer Field for a Thursday evening matchup. The Cougars are hosting "Swifties at the Pitch" with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Washington. Last season, Wazzu traveled to Championship Field in Seattle, handing SU a 2-1 defeat thanks to a last-minute goal from then-junior Jenna Studer. The Cougars hold a 16-2 all-time record against Seattle and a 6-1 record under the guidance of Coach Shulenberger.

CONTROLLING THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
Facing off against teams in their home state, the Cougs have shown they control Washington as WSU holds an impressive 72-16-9 all-time record against teams from the Evergreen State. Among those teams the Cougs have dominated their biggest rivals including Gonzaga (24-1-1), Seattle U (16-2-0), and Pac-12 foe Washington (14-10-8) outscoring those three 183-54.

MUSUAI ISAIA STARTS IN GOAL
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Musuai Isaia got the starting nod Sunday afternoon against Kansas, making her first career appearance and first career start at WSU. The Oahu native was called upon for two saves in the 1-0 win, providing Isaia her first win and first cleansheet on the Palouse.

NATIONAL RANKING RETURNS
The Cougars were voted No. 24 by the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 14 in the College Soccer News top-25 ranking. Washington State is one of four nationally-ranked Pac-12 programs in the Coaches' poll, behind No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA and No. 22 Colorado.

COPPER GOING THE FULL 90
Redshirt-senior transfer Keeley Copper has played every minute of the 2023 season, giving a full 90 in every contest for a total 630 minutes of playing time. Including four seasons at Davidson College, Copper has played over 5,000 minutes of college soccer.

UNDEFEATED IN AUGUST
The Cougars completed August with an unblemished record, the 11th time in program history with nothing but wins in the calendar month. Coach Shulenberger has led Wazzu to a perfect August schedule four times. WSU's five wins last month are the most wins in August in program history.

NAOMI CLARK LEADS COUGARS EARLY
True freshman Naomi Clark has emerged as WSU's early leading goalscorer. The Colorado native has scored three times, most recently in an August 27th win over Weber State. The curling, left-footed golazo from outside the area earned SportsCenter's No. 7 play on the daily SC Top 10 segment. Clark began the season with goals in the first two games, becoming the first WSU freshman since Kailiana Johnson in 2013 to score goals in the first two games of the season. Clark is currently tied for sixth in the Pac-12 golden boot race, three goals behind Arizona's Nicole Dallin and Colorado's Shyra James with six goals.

DETRIZIO DOMINATION
Margie Detrizio entered her senior season as a Preseason All-Pac-12 selection, the only student-athlete outside of the four California schools to be recognized on the 11-member team, and the Conference's top returning goalscorer. Detrizio holds top-10 spots in several Cougar top-10 records, most recently moving into a tie for 10th in program history with her 20th career goal, Sunday, Aug. 27, against Weber State. The Arizona native added an assist in the win over San Diego State, bringing her career total to 14 assists and into a tie for eighth in school history. With 54 total career points, Detrizio sits 10th in program history.

COOPER RE-WRITING WSU RECORD BOOK
Junior goalkeeper Nadia Cooper is no stranger to re-writing the WSU record book, this season setting her sights on the career goalkeeping lists. Against San Diego State, the Houstonian picked up her 23rd career win, moving into a tie for fifth-place in school history. Cooper made a season-high nine saves in WSU's program-first win over Portland, one shy of her single-game career high. The junior netminder eclipsed 3,600 career minutes, the sixth-most minutes between the pipes in program history. She has also made 128 career saves and vaulted up to seventh on the top-10 career saves list.

RIEKEN SUMMITS 6K IN RETURN
Fifth-year senior defender Bridget Rieken surpassed 6,000 career minutes played in a Cougar uniform Aug. 20 at Texas A&M. The Idaho native was welcomed back to Lower Soccer Field for another season, seeking redemption for a 2022 senior season which ended in injury and the Cougs outside of the postseason conversation. Rieken was named the Aug. 28 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, after heading home the game-winning goal at Portland, Aug. 24. The goal was Rieken's first of the season and the second game-winning goal of her career as WSU earned the program's first win over the Pilots. In her time at WSU, Rieken has centered a backline to the national semifinals, and limited opponents to less than a goal per game.  

SHULENBERGER APPROACHES 100 CAREER WINS
WSU Head Coach Todd Shulenberger earned his 95th career victory last Sunday against Kansas. Shulenberger holds a .637 winning percentage, which ranks 44th nationally among active coaches. Last season, Shulenberger broke the program's win record with his 89th career victory, defeating Utah, Oct. 2, 2022, surpassing Matt Potter with 88 career wins in Pullman.

REED EARNS FIRST CAREER POINTS
Incoming junior Rajanah Reed had an impactful afternoon in August 27th's win over Weber State. Reed earned her first career assist, finding space up the right side before playing an easy square ball to Detrizio for the goal. Reed wasn't done, adding a goal of her own in the second half. The Glendale, Ariz., native recovered a loose ball on the endline, split a pair of defenders, and hammered home her first career goal and the match's game-winning goal. Reed's second career goal was a golazo game-winner late in the first half to beat Kansas.

SEASON-OPENER DRAWS THREE THOUSAND
When the Cougars took the field against Eastern Washington, Thursday, they did so in front of 3,013 fans, the second-largest crowd in program history and the 6th-largest crowd in the country over opening weekend. Lower Soccer Field has become something of a fan-fortress for the Cougs. In 2021, the team drew an average of 1,238 fans per match, the highest season average in program history. Last season, Wazzu averaged 1,057 fans per game, good for 21st in the country.

IT JUST MEANS MORE
With the Cougars' win at College Station, Aug. 20, they become one of only three Pac-12 schools to win against an SEC opponent this year, and one of two to do it on the road. Washington State and Southern Cal are the only Conference schools to travel to a Power 5 opponent and win (2-7-1). Against all Power 5 schools, the Pac-12 holds a 10-10-4 record.

COUGS NAMED TOP-20 PROGRAM OVER LAST FIVE YEARS
The Cougars were tabbed as the 20th best team in the country over the last five seasons, SoccerWire.com announced in preseason. The organization generates the standings based on each program's average position in the end-of-season rankings. Rankings are based on a combination of final United Soccer Coaches Polls and Rating Percentage Index (RPI) from each season, with bonuses awarded for NCAA Tournament qualification and College Cup victories. Stanford was the only Pac-12 ranked higher than WSU, named fifth on the list.

GEORGIA WHITEHEAD DEBUTS IN THE HEAT
Freshman Georgia Whitehead made her collegiate debut in the 38th minute at Texas A&M, Sunday, Aug. 20. Whitehead, the granddaughter of longtime WSU football coach Jim Walden, played the remainder of the game, handling an aggressive Aggie attack, spearheaded by forward MaKhiya McDonald. Whitehead would get the starting nod Aug. 24 at Portland, making her first career start for the Cougars.

MARATHON MARGIE
With 71 minutes in WSU's win at Portland, Detrizio cruised past 3,000 career minutes at WSU. The senior has tallied 20 goals and 14 assists in her time on the Palouse. For the second time in her career, Margie Detrizio put together a 3-game assist streak. Spanning to last year's regular season finale against Washington, Detrizio built a 3-game assist streak. Last season, Detrizio went on her first 3-game assist streak, between the Sept. 1 game at Seattle and the Sept. 11 victory versus Cal Poly to become just the 12th student-athlete in program history with a 3-game assist streak. Detrizio, who earned postseason accolades from the Pac-12 and United Soccer Coaches organization last year, returns as a reigning All-Regional Third Team honoree and All-Pac-12 Second Team recognition.

COLORADO FRESHMEN PHENOMS NET DEBUT GOALS
The freshmen duo of Reagan Kotschau and Naomi Clark has a long history, dating back to high school state championships in Colorado. Aug. 17, Kotschau and Clark joined sides and each scored their first career goal to give WSU the win. It marked the second time under Coach Shulenberger when two true freshmen scored in the season-opener and the fourth time in program history. Kotschau, from Thornton, Colorado, and Clark, from Parker, Colorado, became the 18th and 19th freshmen, respectively, in program history to score in the season-opening match.

BROOKS BACK FROM WORLD CUP EXPERIENCE
Incoming freshman goalkeeper Liya Brooks had a short preseason with the Cougs. The Jamaican-American recently returned from a call-up with the Jamaican Senior Women's National Team to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. While Brooks didn't see action on the field, the opportunity provided an experience to work with the veterans of the Reggae Girlz' roster and be with the team as they advanced to their first every Round of 16 match.

PICKING THEMSELVES BACK UP
The Cougars completed the 2022 season with only a single victory after conceding the opening goal and never won when trailing at halftime. To start the 2023 season, Washington State won both matches after conceding the opening goal, and picked up the 3-1 win against Eastern Washington after trailing, 1-0, at halftime.

FRESHMEN SHINE IN CAREER DEBUTS
Five true freshmen earned minutes in the Cougars' season-opening win over Eastern Washington. Reagan Kotschau and Megan Santa Cruz made their first career starts, while Naomi Clark, Nat Lewis, and Alena Watts all subbed on for their Cougar debuts.

COUGS TABBED FIFTH BY PAC-12 COACHES
Washington State was selected in the top half of the conference for the fifth-straight season, falling behind the four California schools in the preseason ranking at No. 5.

PRO COUGS
Establishing themselves among the elite teams, the Cougs have pushed their best into the pro ranks of the NWSL with nine recent draft picks. In two of the last three drafts the Cougs have seen their players go No. 2 overall with Morgan Weaver (2020 - Portland Thorns) and Trinity Rodman (2021 - Washington Spirit). In addition Averie Collins (2020 - Washington Spirit) and Makamae Gomera-Stevens (2021 - Houston Dash) have established themselves in the league while Ella Dederick was signed two a two-year deal by Houston. Outside of the five in the league, Brianna Alger who was selected by the Chicago Red Stars in 2021 heads to the league after completing her fifth season at WSU. In 2021, Elyse Bennett would go No. 7 to Kansas City while Sydney Pulver went No. 25 to new franchise San Diego Wave. Most recently, Mykiaa Minniss was drafted by Kansas City Current in the 2023 NWSL Draft as the 39th overall pick.

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