Washington State University Athletics
Photo by: Washington State Athletics
Get to Know Cougar Soccer | Ashlyn Sandow
April 22, 2026 | Soccer
Coming from Montana. What are the main differences between Montana and Pullman?
The university is just so big here. Montana, it was just a smaller university, and then coming here, and it's honestly crazy. Like, we do sweat testing, and we have a nutritionist, and we have all these supplements, all these huge advancements, which I think is really sick. In Montana, it was kind of like, you played soccer, and you did everything else by yourself, but here is, everything is, every aspect is kind of taken care of for us. So that's pretty sweet.
Another person coming from Montana is Coach Chris. What made you want to follow him here?
Honestly, when I went to Montana, I didn't know that this is the best you get. I've heard so many different stories from girls, either transferring in or just teammates that I had back in Idaho, and they talk about how their coach does all these things, and I'm like, wow, Chris would never do that. Chris is one of the nicest human beings ever, and he just loves soccer as much as I do; you can really see it. Like, he is alive every practice. It's amazing. And he just dedicates his life to soccer. We joke on the team about how he never sleeps and only makes breakfast plans and dreams about soccer and all this stuff. So he's just like an amazing human being. And I think that he can make my professional development that much better.
So, you went to high school with Emma Widmor. And then you went to college with her. And now you're here with her. So that's like, seven years? What's your relationship with her like?
It goes, like, back and forth. In high school, we were really, really close, and then we were college roommates in the same dorm, and honestly, we weren't on that soon enough. Both of us wanted to room with somebody else just because we'd been friends for so long. We need something new. We definitely got on each other's nerves a lot, but we've kind of found our own friend groups in college, and I think that's made our relationship that much better. But yeah, I can't get rid of her. She's everywhere. But, she's great. I love her.
What has been your favorite soccer memory, collegiate or youth?
This last season at Montana, this is probably what everybody's going to say, but we won the regular season title, which was sweet, and that was back to back to back. So that season was difficult because we were under so much pressure, but we were able to pull it off. And then we had so many injuries that were just devastating. And that tournament, because usually what the trend was, we'd win the regular season by far, like not lose one game. And then we would just kind of choke in the tournament. And because we had all those injuries, it was, we were just so united. It was so sweet because we just played for those injured players, and then we won the conference title, and that was just amazing. Those two back-to-back were pretty great.
What do you think are your biggest strengths on the field?
I'm pretty quick, I'm explosive. I'll track down anyone, sprinting everywhere. I mean, my position really is just running all the time. So I think that's one of my strengths. And then also just the game IQ. I love watching soccer; I really understand the game and can use that knowledge really well during the game.
Do you have a favorite team to watch?
I really like Man City.
What are you looking forward to most this coming season?
Playing all these really good teams, we were at Montana when we played some of the teams that are in the Pac-12 now. In spring and preseason games, the level of play was just amazing, and I feel like our team really rose to the occasion each time. I'm really excited to play at a higher level of soccer than in the Big Sky.
What are three words you would use to describe this team?
I'd say connected. I think it was hard coming from two different teams, but I think we've been doing a really good job of intertwining and becoming one. I was gonna say playful earlier, but I'm gonna go with that too, because we just like never take anything seriously, and soccer is just always so fun here. And then, I'd also say hardworking. We put our heads down every day during practice and every rondo, every lift. So that's pretty sweet.
How are you enjoying Pullman so far?
It's been a hard adjustment for me, because I've come from, I came from Boise, Idaho, so just super outdoorsy, always, so many things to do. We had that lake right there. We had the Boise River. The foothills, the mountains, and skiing was thirty minutes away from my house. Missoula was kind of the same thing, just always something to do there. And Pullman's just really small. I really like it. I found things to do. I have to drive a little bit further. It's like forty minutes to get to my hikes, instead of ten minutes. But I really like downtown. It's amazing. Once I understood it, I really liked the small-town vibe. I like how everyone's just right there and how I know everybody and see the same people. That's comforting. But sometimes I do wish that my outdoorsy stuff was a little closer.
Who has influenced your development the most as a player?
Honestly, oh, this is actually a really hard one. I would say I had this high school coach. His name was Jareth. He was my sophomore high school coach, and then I transferred clubs so he could be my club coach too. He just, he was, like, super intense, and all my other club coaches in Idaho were kind of just like, yeah, yeah, we're like Idaho, but he was like, we're gonna win everything. And so he was like my 1st coach who made soccer do-or-die. He loved it. And so he made me love it. And I would always do individual training with him, and he just made me realize my potential. He really shaped me as a player.
And I did gymnastics for twelve years growing up, so I was used to, "you're not doing it right." You need to go back and do it again. The very aggressive coaching was what I grew up with. And so all like the soft coaches, I'm like, wow, I can't do it. I can't do it with you. So Jared was just amazing because he fit that piece for me.
What is your pre-match superstition or ritual?
I have to wear the same socks every time. I had my own socks that I wore in the club in high school, and now, for college, I wore them all throughout Montana. One time, I forgot them, so I made my dad drive to my house to get them because I couldn't play with my other socks. That's probably my superstition, those socks, because they go up above my knee, and they fit me really well. But they have holes all in them. So I might need to get new ones, or I don't know what I'm gonna do yet.
What is your current hyperfixation?
Have you seen the show Love on the Spectrum? It is my favorite thing ever. I love Connor so much, and he's like my favorite guy ever. And they make me laugh so much. They're just so happy all the time, and I love it. That's my hyperfixation. I watch that every day. I've gone through two seasons in like two days.
The university is just so big here. Montana, it was just a smaller university, and then coming here, and it's honestly crazy. Like, we do sweat testing, and we have a nutritionist, and we have all these supplements, all these huge advancements, which I think is really sick. In Montana, it was kind of like, you played soccer, and you did everything else by yourself, but here is, everything is, every aspect is kind of taken care of for us. So that's pretty sweet.
Another person coming from Montana is Coach Chris. What made you want to follow him here?
Honestly, when I went to Montana, I didn't know that this is the best you get. I've heard so many different stories from girls, either transferring in or just teammates that I had back in Idaho, and they talk about how their coach does all these things, and I'm like, wow, Chris would never do that. Chris is one of the nicest human beings ever, and he just loves soccer as much as I do; you can really see it. Like, he is alive every practice. It's amazing. And he just dedicates his life to soccer. We joke on the team about how he never sleeps and only makes breakfast plans and dreams about soccer and all this stuff. So he's just like an amazing human being. And I think that he can make my professional development that much better.
So, you went to high school with Emma Widmor. And then you went to college with her. And now you're here with her. So that's like, seven years? What's your relationship with her like?
It goes, like, back and forth. In high school, we were really, really close, and then we were college roommates in the same dorm, and honestly, we weren't on that soon enough. Both of us wanted to room with somebody else just because we'd been friends for so long. We need something new. We definitely got on each other's nerves a lot, but we've kind of found our own friend groups in college, and I think that's made our relationship that much better. But yeah, I can't get rid of her. She's everywhere. But, she's great. I love her.
What has been your favorite soccer memory, collegiate or youth?
This last season at Montana, this is probably what everybody's going to say, but we won the regular season title, which was sweet, and that was back to back to back. So that season was difficult because we were under so much pressure, but we were able to pull it off. And then we had so many injuries that were just devastating. And that tournament, because usually what the trend was, we'd win the regular season by far, like not lose one game. And then we would just kind of choke in the tournament. And because we had all those injuries, it was, we were just so united. It was so sweet because we just played for those injured players, and then we won the conference title, and that was just amazing. Those two back-to-back were pretty great.
What do you think are your biggest strengths on the field?
I'm pretty quick, I'm explosive. I'll track down anyone, sprinting everywhere. I mean, my position really is just running all the time. So I think that's one of my strengths. And then also just the game IQ. I love watching soccer; I really understand the game and can use that knowledge really well during the game.
Do you have a favorite team to watch?
I really like Man City.
What are you looking forward to most this coming season?
Playing all these really good teams, we were at Montana when we played some of the teams that are in the Pac-12 now. In spring and preseason games, the level of play was just amazing, and I feel like our team really rose to the occasion each time. I'm really excited to play at a higher level of soccer than in the Big Sky.
What are three words you would use to describe this team?
I'd say connected. I think it was hard coming from two different teams, but I think we've been doing a really good job of intertwining and becoming one. I was gonna say playful earlier, but I'm gonna go with that too, because we just like never take anything seriously, and soccer is just always so fun here. And then, I'd also say hardworking. We put our heads down every day during practice and every rondo, every lift. So that's pretty sweet.
How are you enjoying Pullman so far?
It's been a hard adjustment for me, because I've come from, I came from Boise, Idaho, so just super outdoorsy, always, so many things to do. We had that lake right there. We had the Boise River. The foothills, the mountains, and skiing was thirty minutes away from my house. Missoula was kind of the same thing, just always something to do there. And Pullman's just really small. I really like it. I found things to do. I have to drive a little bit further. It's like forty minutes to get to my hikes, instead of ten minutes. But I really like downtown. It's amazing. Once I understood it, I really liked the small-town vibe. I like how everyone's just right there and how I know everybody and see the same people. That's comforting. But sometimes I do wish that my outdoorsy stuff was a little closer.
Who has influenced your development the most as a player?
Honestly, oh, this is actually a really hard one. I would say I had this high school coach. His name was Jareth. He was my sophomore high school coach, and then I transferred clubs so he could be my club coach too. He just, he was, like, super intense, and all my other club coaches in Idaho were kind of just like, yeah, yeah, we're like Idaho, but he was like, we're gonna win everything. And so he was like my 1st coach who made soccer do-or-die. He loved it. And so he made me love it. And I would always do individual training with him, and he just made me realize my potential. He really shaped me as a player.
And I did gymnastics for twelve years growing up, so I was used to, "you're not doing it right." You need to go back and do it again. The very aggressive coaching was what I grew up with. And so all like the soft coaches, I'm like, wow, I can't do it. I can't do it with you. So Jared was just amazing because he fit that piece for me.
What is your pre-match superstition or ritual?
I have to wear the same socks every time. I had my own socks that I wore in the club in high school, and now, for college, I wore them all throughout Montana. One time, I forgot them, so I made my dad drive to my house to get them because I couldn't play with my other socks. That's probably my superstition, those socks, because they go up above my knee, and they fit me really well. But they have holes all in them. So I might need to get new ones, or I don't know what I'm gonna do yet.
What is your current hyperfixation?
Have you seen the show Love on the Spectrum? It is my favorite thing ever. I love Connor so much, and he's like my favorite guy ever. And they make me laugh so much. They're just so happy all the time, and I love it. That's my hyperfixation. I watch that every day. I've gone through two seasons in like two days.
Players Mentioned
M
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