by Hayden Wysup - Moments before kickoff of her first game with the Cougars, Keara Fitzgerald started the same pregame routine she had for her whole career. Turned on her playlist, stretched and meditated. As the lights above Lower Soccer Field shined down on the redshirt-senior making her first start at goalkeeper in a year and a half, she felt the nerves but treated it like any other game of her career.  

In her Cougar debut, Fitzgerald saved six shots in front of 2,317 Cougar fans and reminded herself of all the hard work she put in to get back to this point. 

"Utah State was the first 90 minutes I played since I got injured and after the game finished, I was really proud of myself, and it just felt like I finally did it," Fitzgerald said. 

Before arriving to WSU, the California native played in 51 games across her three seasons at UC San Diego. But in her final game as a Triton, she tore her ACL in the final 15 minutes.  

"I saw them coming in for a cross and I saw my defender was there, so I stopped and suddenly my knee just gave out," Fitzgerald said. 

After the season, Fitzgerald entered the transfer portal without knowing the full extent of her injury. Three weeks after the injury, she found out it was an ACL tear, and teams lost interest. WSU however, kept their name in the running and took a chance on Fitzgerald.  

"Me and Todd talk about this now but when I was being recruited, he was very much like, 'I'm taking a chance on you,'" Fitzgerald said. 

For the redshirt-senior, betting on herself was nothing new. Growing up, Fitzgerald didn't play for a big club and felt she had trouble getting exposure.  

"Since the beginning in my club days I've had to advocate for myself and I am very confident in my ability," Fitzgerald said. 

Even at UC San Diego, Fitzgerald led the Big West in saves her final two seasons but still felt like she hadn't gotten the respect she deserved. 

"I broke a few school records which was cool, I won player of the week, but I still did not feel like I got a lot of recognition," Fitzgerald said. 

When Fitzgerald arrived at WSU, she redshirted the 2024 season, continuing her recovery process. 

"The hardest part of the recovery was that three-to-four-to-five-month range because your knee feels better than it had been and you're starting to run and you're starting to touch the ball, but you can't push it too hard," Fitzgerald said. 

After recovering during the 2024 season, Fitzgerald was cleared and set to make the start to open the 2025 season. Fitzgerald played all 90 minutes and saved six shots, four of them coming in the second half. 

"I was proud for her to get back into a 90-minute game and have the performance she had," WSU assistant coach Mason Portalski said. 

Even after reflecting on her good performance against Utah State, Fitzgerald hasn't lost track of what this season means to her. 

"I was talking to the coaches that this year is very personal for me and that it is my comeback season," Fitzgerald said.