October 24, 1997
PULLMAN, Wash. -- After closing the home portion of its schedule with a pair
of losses, the Washington State women's soccer team takes to the road for
the final three weeks of the Pacific-10 Conference season.
First stop on the tour is the Bay Area, where the Cougars face the Stanford
Cardinal Friday, Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. and the California Golden Bears Sunday,
Oct. 26 at noon.
"Our backs are against the wall," said head coach Lisa Gozley WSU's bid for
a spot in the NCAA Tournament. "Great teams respond to big challenges and
this is certainly a big challenge."
The Cougars saw their five-game winning streak come to a halt last weekend
as WSU lost to Arizona State (3-1) and Arizona (1-0). WSU's defense allowed
more goals vs. the Sun Devils and Wildcats than the Cougars surrendered
during the entire winning streak.
WSU has been a successful road team in the past two seasons (6-4-1 at
opponent's field), but has never won in the Bay Area. In fact, the Cougars
are 0-4 playing at Stanford and have never scored a goal while there. WSU
in 1-5-0 all-time vs. the Cardinal with the lone home victory coming in 1993.
Don't be deceived by the record of the Cardinal (6-7-0, 1-2-0 Pac-10). Six
of Stanford's losses have come by a single goal, including Pac-10 losses to
USC (3-2) and UCLA (2-1). "At any time Stanford can be a top ten program,"
offered Gozley. "You have to be prepared to play the best Stanford."
Last season marked the first time WSU defeated Cal - a 1-0 win in Pullman.
The Cougars are 1-4-2 all-time with the Golden Bears and 0-2-1 at Berkeley.
Cal (5-7-1, 0-3-0 Pac-10), which has dropped three straight matches, is
winless in Pac-10 play. The Golden Bears host Washington Friday, Oct. 24 at
4 p.m.
Three Dot Notes - This fall the Cougars have not won a match in which they
have scored less than two goals...none of the Cougars' victories have been
decided by a single goal...the Cougars have outscored their opponents 11-6
in the first half, WSU has been outscored 15-10 after halftime.
