WSU AT FARGO TO FACE NDSU
The Washington State women’s soccer team concludes its week in the Dakotas against North Dakota State, Sunday, August 23, at 11 a.m. PT. The Cougs and Bison will meet in Fargo at Dacotah Field with coverage on the Summit League Network (subscription required). The trip marks the first to NDSU for WSU, which previously hosted NDSU twice in Pullman, a 5-0 win in 2016 and a 2-0 victory last fall.
CITOWICKI ERA BEGINS
Chris Citowicki was named the eighth head coach in WSU soccer program history, December 12, 2025, after eight seasons as the head coach at Montana. Citowicki led the Griz to nine Big Sky Championships, including three-consecutive regular-season titles. The 2023 Big Sky Coach of the Year, Citowicki finished at Montana with a 79-39-32 record and four NCAA postseason appearances. Citowicki last traveled to Fargo with Montana in 2023 to secure a 3-1 win over the Bison.
WSU HISTORY VS BISON
The Cougars and Bison first met in 2016 when North Dakota State visited Lower Soccer Field in Pullman. Morgan Weaver delivered the first hat trick in five seasons and the Cougs won 5-0. Last season, Wazzu hosted the Bison in the first half of the home-and-home series, holding NDSU scoreless in a 2-0 victory. Keara Fitzgerald and Aaya McLyn are the only two players returning to the Cougar roster who played in last year’s match.
LAST TIME ON THE PITCH
WSU lost to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 3-0, Thursday evening at Fishback Soccer Park, in their first road match of the season. The Cougars trailed from the 14th minute after SDSU converted a penalty kick, adding a second goal before halftime, and a third goal in the final three minutes.
ABOUT THE BISON
The Bison welcomed in a large incoming class ahead of the 2026 season with a total of 13 freshman, as well as one transfer, Holly Rimmer, who joined the Bison in the spring. The Bison added 11 field players and two goalkeepers in the freshman class, which comes from seven states and New Zealand. Garrett and Russmann were tabbed as Summit League Players to Watch in the league’s preseason release. Last time out the Bison fell to Minnesota Thursday evening at home.
LOOKING AHEAD
Washington State returns home to host UC Irvine, Thursday, August 27 at 6 p.m. at Lower Soccer Field. The match will stream live on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.
2026 ROSTER RELOAD
The Cougars welcomed 23 new faces with the coaching change, including 13 transfers and 10 true freshmen. WSU retained eight returnees, including five with field experience and three redshirts. This season, the Cougs have had five freshmen make their college debuts and 17 student-athletes make their first appearance at WSU. In the season opener against Idaho, 17 Cougs made their WSU debuts, including nine in the starting lineup. Five freshmen played their first college match.
INVEST IN VENIER
WSU’s sophomore goalkeeper Sidney Venier stepped into the starting role in the Cougs’ win over South Florida, replacing starting ‘keeper Ashlyn Dvorak, who is out with a cracked rib. Venier delivered four saves in the win over the Bulls, only conceding on a penalty kick, to earn her first-career goalkeeping win. Venier returned for 90 minutes against SDST, facing a penalty for a second-consecutive match and surpassing her total minutes in goal last season as a freshman.
IF THE GLOVE FITZ
Sixth-year senior goalkeeper Keara Fitzgerald, returned for the Cougs after holding down the starting job last season 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. Fitzgerald has made 296 career saves in 58 matches played over 5,000 minutes and is slated to return to the field near the end of nonconference play.
OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
WSU’s defensive quartet of Riley Carolan, Ashlyn Dvorak, Keara Fitzgerald, and Makena Smith make up the captain’s room for the Cougs.
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Sophomore Aaya McLyn changed her jersey number to 20 this season, becoming the second McLyn to don the number after her sister Aaqila McLyn wore #20 for five seasons with the Cougs, including a run to the College Cup semifinals in 2019.
COUGAR CONNECTIONS
Two current Cougar soccer student-athletes represent second-generation Cougs. Riley Carolan and Delaney Hawkins both have fathers who played football at Washington State. Brett Carolan was a tight end for WSU alongside Drew Bledsoe and went on to have a 3-year NFL career. Adam Hawkins was a team captain for the Cougs just a few years after Carolan graduated. Hawkins played running back alongside NFL legend Steve Gleason. Delaney is the god-daughter of Gleason.
HAWKINS HANDLES PRESSURE
True freshman Delaney Hawkins delivered her first-career goal in her first-career start Saturday in the win over USF. She also drew the challenge which earned the Cougs’ the first-half penalty and the early lead. Hawkins, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, is a legacy Coug and the son of Adam Hawkins, a former WSU football team captain and teammate of NFL legend Steve Gleason. Delaney is the god-daughter of Gleason.
DEVALL’S DELAYED GRATIFICATION
Redshirt-junior Meg Devall waited patiently for her chance to represent WSU, sitting through the 2025 season, before earning a starting spot in the back line for the 2026 season. A native of West Linn, Oregon, Devall started both matches opening weekend, and scored her first-career goal in WSU’s win over USF. Meg collected an errant clearance from the Bulls and floated a curling left-footed shot into the upper left corner from the top of the area, giving WSU a 3-1 lead, fewer than six minutes after the Cougs regained the lead.