WASHINGTON STATE vs SANTA CLARA
Saturday, September 27 at 7 p.m. PT
Pullman, Washington at Lower Soccer Field
Streaming: ESPN+ (Greg Heister)

COUGARS HOST BRONCOS SATURDAY
Washington State soccer continues its weekend homestand against visiting Santa Clara, Saturday, September 27 at 7 p.m. at Lower Soccer Field. The Cougars host the Broncos for 'Socctoberfest' with coverage on ESPN+.

WAZZU AND SANTA CLARA
Washington State and Santa Clara meet for the 12th time in program history and the third time under Coach Todd Shulenberger's tenure. Last season in California, the Cougs earned their third all-time result against the Broncos and second tie at Santa Clara. Shulenberger is the only WSU coach to defeat SCU, during his second season in 2016, a 1-0 win for the home side.

LAST TIME ON THE PITCH
The Cougars beat previously unbeaten Seattle U, 4-2 behind a flurry of first-half goals. Abigail Siddall scored the fastest WSU goal of the year in the 4th minute. Audrey Shackelford doubled the lead with a solo shot in the 25th minute. Keira Mitchell smashed her first career goal into the top netting from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute before Journey Mitchell added her first career goal less than 40 seconds later. The Redhawks clawed a pair of second-half goals back, but WSU earned its first conference win of 2025.

ABOUT THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara is led by 39th-year head coach Jerry Smith. The Broncos drew Portland in the Rose City Wednesday night to begin WCC play. Kennedy Schoennauer, a MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List honoree and preseason All-WCC selection, leads SCU with three goals. The Broncos were picked to win the West Coast Conference.

COACH TODD SURPASSES 200 MATCHES
Head Coach Todd Shulenberger oversaw his 200th career match at the helm of the Cougar program in WSU's 1-0 win at UC San Diego, September 11. Shulenberger is in his 11th season at the helm of the Cougar soccer program and currently holds a 109-63-32 record. Shulenberger is the longest tenured head coach in WSU soccer history, leading the Cougars to five NCAA Tournaments in 10 seasons, including an historic run to the College Cup and the 2019 national semifinal.

INJURY BUG BITES
Four Cougar soccer student-athletes have been sidelined with season-ending injuries, including three starters in Keara Fitzgerald, Becca Skinner, and Jenna Studer. Freshman Rhen Ericson suffered an injury in offseason training and elected to medically-redshirt the 2025 season. Freshman forward Becca Skinner suffered a season-ending injury during training ahead of the Cougars' August 28 match at Idaho. Captain and defensive centerback Jenna Studer's college career was cut short at UC Irvine, September 14, due to a season-ending knee injury. In the following game, starting goalkeeper Keara Fitzgerald went down without contact in the 72nd minute, ending her season.

LOOKING AHEAD
WSU returns to the road for a single match next week. The Cougs will face San Diego, Saturday, October 4 at 4 p.m. live on ESPN+.

STANDIFER BETWEEN THE STICKS
Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Zora Standifer made her debut as a Coug, replacing Keara Fitzgerald in goal in the 72nd minute, Sept. 18, in the 2-0 win over North Dakota State. The Long Beach State transfer made her first career start for Wazzu at Montana, Sunday, Sept. 21. Standifer finished with four saves and made her first start since October 2023, when she was a junior at Long Beach State.

2025 ROSTER RELOAD
The Cougars welcomed 20 new faces, including six transfers and 14 freshmen. WSU retained 10 returnees, including four returning starters, two additional letterwinners, and four redshirts from last season's roster. This season, the Cougs have had 11 freshmen make their first college appearances, 16 student-athletes make their first starts at WSU, and six make their first appearances as Cougs. In the season opener against Utah State, 11 Cougs made their WSU debuts, including seven in the starting lineup. Eight freshmen played their first college match.

IF THE GLOVE FITZ
Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Keara Fitzgerald earned the starting nod in the 2025 season opener, returning to the pitch for the first time since October 2023 and the first time in a WSU uniform. Fitzgerald held down the starting job until suffering a season-ending injury against North Dakota State, September 18. Fitzgerald's top performances included a career-high 11 saves in a shutout at California, September 4, the most by a Coug 'keeper in five seasons. The performance earned her WCC Defensive Player of the Week, her second-career conference weekly honor. The California senior tallied an assist in the Cougars' draw with No. 13 Georgia, August 31, delivering her second-career assist and the first by a Cougar goalkeeper since Nadia Cooper notched an assist against Colorado in Boulder in 2021.

STUDER'S ALL-WCC SEASON CUT SHORT
Returning sixth-year senior Jenna Studer was named to the All-WCC preseason team. The California native featured in the Cougars' backline until she suffered a season-ending knee injury at UC Irvine, September 14. The four-year Coug also suffered a season-ending injury in 2023 just two games into the season. During her college career, Studer delivered four goals, including three at WSU, and a pair of assists. Part of the backline and defensive midfield throughout her career, Studer played 46 matches as a Coug, starting 43, and played over 3,500 minutes.

OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
WSU's senior trio of Maggie Mace, Peyton Price, and Jenna Studer were selected by teammates and staff as the 2025 team captains.