SOCCER IN HONOLULU FOR OUTRIGGER
The Washington State women’s soccer team begins its September schedule on the beautiful island of Oahu to face Utah Valley at 4 p.m. PT (1 p.m. HT), Thursday, September 3, from the University of Hawaii’s new field on the Lower Campus at Manoa.
WSU HISTORY VS WOLVERINES
The Cougars visited Orem in September 2017 for the inaugural meeting between the programs. WSU escaped with a 3-2 double-overtime win in front of a hostile UVU crowd. Morgan Weaver delivered the game-tying goal with 32 seconds left in the match, and scored the game-winner early in the second period of overtime.
LAST TIME ON THE PITCH
WSU concluded its August slate with a 2-0 win at home over UC Irvine, marking a second-consecutive shutout, and the return of goalkeeper Ashlyn Dvorak in goal. The Cougars delivered a pair of late goals in the final 10 minutes of the August 27 match at Lower Soccer Field, first when freshman Delaney Hawkins delivered a cross in for senior Lexi Lee to finish. Hawkins earned a goal of her own in the final minute, her second of the season, and tied as the ninth-latest regulation goal in WSU history at 89 minutes and 8 seconds.
ABOUT THE UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES
Utah Valley beat No. 17/14 Kansas, 2-1, on Aug. 27 at UCCU Stadium. The victory gave UVU its first win of the season and improved the Wolverines to 1-2-1. Malia Jessop headed home the equalizer in the 36th minute before Sadie Beardall scored the game-winner just 1:24 later. Jessop and Beardall joined Addie Olson as UVU’s three goal scorers this season. Freshman goalkeeper Madeleine Boucher owns a 1-0-1 record with a 0.81 goals-against average and an .857 save percentage. She has made 12 saves while allowing just two goals in 222:10 of action.
LOOKING AHEAD
Washington State will conclude the OUTRIGGER No Ka Oi Sunday, September 6, against hosting Hawaii. The Rainbow Wahine and Cougs are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. PT (4 p.m. HT) from UH’s Lower Campus field at Manoa. The match will stream live on MW+. WSU holds an 8-0 record against UH, mostly recently a 2021 win in Pullman.
HAWKINS HANDLES PRESSURE
True freshman Delaney Hawkins delivered her first-career goal in her first-career start Aug. 15 in the win over USF. She also drew the challenge which earned the Cougs’ the first-half penalty and the early lead. The Scottsdale, Arizona native delivered the game-winning assist in WSU’s win over UC Irvine, before delivering the insurance goal in the final minute. Hawkins’ goal at 89 minutes and eight seconds is tied for the ninth-latest goal scored by a Coug in regulation in program history.
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.
OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
WSU’s senior 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.
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 seven 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.
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.
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. Devall has played in all five matches and started four games.
TRENDING UP
Over the first five matches of the season, the Cougars have improved their shot differential from -5 in the opener against Idaho to a +5 shot differential against the Anteaters, August 27.
| Opponent | Date | Shots For | Shots Against | Shot Diff. |
| Idaho | 8/12 | 10 | 15 | -5 |
|
South Fla. |
8/15 | 12 | 15 | -3 |
| South Dakota St. | 8/20 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| North Dakota St. | 8/23 | 12 | 9 | +3 |
| UC Irvine | 8/27 | 18 | 13 | +5 |
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 played both road matches last weekend, earning her first-career shutout in a scoreless draw at North Dakota State, Sunday, August 23 in Fargo, N.D.
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.