FARGO, N.D. – The Washington State women’s soccer team played to a scoreless draw with the North Dakota State Bison, Sunday at Dacotah Field in Fargo. WSU goalkeeper Sidney Venier earned her first career shutout as the Cougs held the Bison scoreless for a third-consecutive meeting but were unable to convert from 12 Cougar shot attempts.
True freshmen Isabella Amado, Calli Holje, Kate Spangler, and Raina Tifft all earned their first starting nod with Coach Chris Citowicki looking to mix things up. The Cougars delivered seven first-half shots with all three of WSU’s shots on target in the first 45 minutes.
Just over six minutes into the contest, Maddie Martin delivered a skipping shot attempt from 25 yards out, forcing the Bison into their first of three saves. Holje nearly scored her first goal in the 25th minute, striking the ball into the upper right corner on frame, before being denied by a diving parry. WSU looked dangerous from set pieces with Makena Smith pushing a strong header wide of the far post on a free kick four minutes before halftime.
Venier made two saves in the match, snagging a set piece out of the air in the 19th minute. The B.C. product was called upon in the first two minutes of the second half, making a diving save to her upper left to keep the cleansheet, WSU’s first of the season.
“Good response from the game against SDSU,” Coach Citowicki said after the match. “This was always going to be a physical match up and we did a great job in our 50-50s. From a defensive standpoint I couldn’t be any happier, you need to get shutouts and defend like your life depends on it. That’s what we did today.”
WSU struggled to put chances on target in the second half with several blocked attempts from inside the penalty area. In the 56th minute Riley Carolan got her head on a corner kick that was blocked inside the 6-yard box. The Cougars looked threatening on the counter with the freshmen Delaney Hawkins and Tifft combining up the right channel. The Bison were forced into several tactical fouls, including a takedown of Tifft at the top of the area for a dangerous set piece with half an hour remaining. Maycen Slater slammed the attempt into the wall and 10 minutes later Carolan had another counter attempt blocked.
“There are a few things we need to clean up in the attack and we’ll work on that this week,” Citowicki said. “Finally, we had six players make their debut today and they did so well. The future is bright in that regard. I can’t wait to get back to Pullman and play again this week.”
Entering the final 10 minutes, Venier was forced off her line when a Carolan clearance ricocheted off a Bison attacker and toward the Cougar goal. Venier smothered the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, taking a knock to the head in the process. On the other end, Aaya McLyn got her foot on a corner kick in the 83rd minute that was blocked out of play. With just over five minutes remaining, Amado covered the width of the field to challenge a threatening through ball and prevent a final NDSU attack.
The Cougars return home to begin the 2026-27 academic school year this week. WSU soccer hosts UC Irvine, Thursday, August 27, at 6 p.m. PT at Lower Soccer Field to conclude the August schedule.
Cougar soccer single-match tickets are on sale at wsucougars.com. Follow WSU soccer on social media and stay up to date on Cougar news on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
###
- Freshmen Isabella Amado, Calli Holje Kate Spangler, and Raina Tifft made their first college starts
- Sidney Venier recorded her first career shutout
- The Cougars are 2-0-1 against the Bison and have never given up a goal to NDSU
- Program’s first match in North Dakota and first match at North Dakota State