FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Washington State soccer team dropped a 2-1 loss to Colorado State at CSU Soccer Complex, Saturday, Oct. 31. WSU forward Reagan Brisendine scored her third goal of the season, equalizing the score early in the second half for the Cougs before the Rams delivered the game-winner with 15 minutes left in the match.
It was a tale of two halves as Colorado State dominated the opening period, outshooting WSU 12-2, and netting the opening goal in the 22nd minute. Washington State responded with a 49th minute strike from Brisendine, part of a flurry of 10 second-half shots by WSU. The Cougars put nine of those attempts on target, forcing eight saves by the Rams’ goalkeeper in the final 45 minutes.
“It was a heck of a second half from our squad,” WSU Head Coach Chris Citowicki said postgame, “but it was the slow start in the first half that hurt us the most.”
CSU’s Poppy O’Brien scored the opening goal when she dribbled into the left side of the Cougs’ box, lifting a shot up and over the defenders and into the upper-right side-netting. The Cougars responded immediately, as Delaney Hawkins delivered WSU’s first shot of the match into the arms of the Rams’ GK just 90 seconds after the goal.
Returning from the locker room, Reagan Brisendine equalized in the 49th minute after Hawkins split a pair of defenders to deliver a cross from the right side. Charging in from the top of the box, the junior forward one-timed a left-footed chip shot over the Ram’s goalkeeper. The equalizer marked Brisendine’s third goal of the season and first since Oct. 4.
Hawkins, a true freshman, continued to lead the Cougs in offensive generation with five goals and two assists as the WSU’s leading shot-creator and goal-scorer. Calli Holje nearly gave the Cougars the lead in the 64th minute. Holje picked up a loose clearance at top of the area, driving a shot through traffic before being punched over the bar at the last moment.
Dvorak finished with eight saves, her eighth match with at least five saves, and her fifth game in the last six appearances with at least five saves. The senior goalkeeper increased her season save total to 73, brining her career total to 229 saves.
“I was proud of the response,” Citowicki said. “We go into the last day of the season next week knowing what we have to do to make the playoffs. I’m excited to get back home and get after it.”
WSU can clinch a spot in the inaugural Pac-12 Championships, awarded to the top four finishers in the Pac-12 regular season. Washington State’s path to the conference tournament requires a win over the Broncos and Gonzaga to simultaneously draw or lose to Oregon State in Spokane.
The Cougars regular season concludes Thursday, Nov. 5 in Boise, Idaho. Washington State faces Boise State at 7 p.m. MT (6 p.m. PT) with coverage on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.