HCA: WSU soccer lands in top 5

After being ranked eighth by TopDrawerSoccer.com last week, the Washington State Women’s soccer team moved up three spots and landed their first top-5 ranking in program history on Monday. With wins over Oregon and Oregon State this past weekend, the Cougars (10-0) are currently ranked 5th and jumped Virginia, Texas, and Santa Clara in the latest poll released on Monday.

The Cougs check in at No. 7 in college soccer’s primary ranking, the United Soccer Coaches poll.

To start the weekend off, the Cougs welcomed Oregon to town on Thursday and were able to use a goal in the 69th minute to finish out with a 2-1 victory. Oregon was at the time just outside of the top 25.

The Cougars continued their momentum and finished off homecoming weekend with a 2-0 shutout over Oregon State on Sunday. Maegan O’Neill started things off early in the match with a put back in the 19th minute to give the Cougs the early 1-0 lead. They were kept out of the net until late in a match that featured 34 total shots by the Cougs.

Maddy Haro gave the Cougs more of a cushion in the 64th minute when she found the back of the net on a free kick that went right over the goal keeper for her first goal of the season.

Haro and the rest of the Cougs didn’t need much offense however as their defense played lights-out the entire match and held the Beavers to just five shots, only one of which was on goal.

Redshirt junior Rachel Thompson, who has stepped in for the injured Ella Dederick, has been a brick wall so far, allowing just two goals in her six games. This should not be a surprise to fans, as the Alaska native went on an 11-game shutout streak as a sophomore while at Highline College.

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Football:

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Soccer:

College Soccer National Ranking
The Nation's top 25 women's college teams ranked by our team of analysts.