WSU soccer advances in the NCAA Tournament

The Washington State soccer team is once again moving on in the NCAA Tournament after securing a 3-0 win against Montana in the first round on Saturday.

The margin almost doesn’t do justice to how dominant the Cougars were. WSU tallied 20 shots against Montana while just allowing two. The Cougars had eight shots on goal to zero from Montana. The game was actually 1-0 until Sydney Pulver scored in the 79th minute and Grayson Lynch added a goal in the 83rd minute to put it away.

Now the Cougs head to Ann Arbor for the second round where they will face Tennessee on Friday. The regionals are hosted by No. 2 seeded Michigan. Tennessee is the No. 3 seed and is coming off a 3-0 victory against Lipscomb. This is not the first time Tennessee and the Cougs will meet in the Tournament. WSU knocked off Tennessee in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, advancing on penalty kicks.

Should the Cougs win on Friday, they would advance to face either Michigan or Wake Forest on Sunday.

WSU is one of just two Pac-12 teams remaining as both Stanford and UCLA lost in the first round. UCLA won the Pac-12 during the regular season only to suffer a first-round exit to UC Irvine in the Bruins’ first loss of the year.

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The WSU volleyball team split their weekend series in the Bay Area. The Cougs started off well with a dominating 3-0 victory against California on Thursday. Things didn’t go as well on Saturday as the Cougs dropped a 3-1 contest to No. 20 Stanford. The Cougs won the second set to make it 1-1, before the Cardinal won the final two sets to take the match.

There was some history in the loss as senior Penny Tusa recorded three aces to move her career total to 145, a new Washington State record.

The Cougs are back home this week for their final home stand of the season. WSU will host Oregon on Thursday before Senior Day on Sunday against Oregon State.

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The women’s basketball team improved to 2-0 with a 62-54 win against Northern Arizona on Friday. Charlisse Leger-Walker led the way with 22 points, while Bella Murekatete tallied 13 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.

The Cougs will go on the road for the first time this week, although it will be a short trip to Mosco to take on Idaho on Sunday.

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The swimming team recorded a 126-74 win against Grand Canyon University on Friday while the men’s cross country team finished 7th and the women’s team 12th at the NCAA West Regional. Amir Ado advanced to the NCAA championship.

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Finally, we have plenty of coverage of the football team here and here and the men’s basketball team here. WSU basketball will be back in action today looking to improve to 3-0. The Cougs host UCSB at 8 p.m.

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Football:

Arizona Wildcats football opens as 2-score underdog for visit to Washington State - Arizona Desert Swarm
Bet against Arizona at your own peril. Against the spread, at least.

The Wildcats have opened as a 15.5-point underdog for Friday night’s game at Washington State, according to DraftKings...

Washington State vs. Arizona: what to know | Sports | lmtribune.com
Washington State returns home for a Pac-12 Conference game against Arizona at 6 p.m. Friday:

Men’s basketball:

Cougs look to wrangle the Gauchos Monday - Washington State University Athletics
The Cougs and the Gauchos meet for just the fourth time in the all-time with UCSB leading the series 2-1 having won the last two matchups.

Soccer:

Moving on - Washington State University Athletics
Beginning their way on the road to the College Cup, #15 Washington State (14-2-4) took the first step towards Santa Clara with a resounding 3-0 win over Montana (13-6-1) Saturday night at Lower Soccer Field.

WSU soccer routs Montana to advance in NCAAs | Sports | lmtribune.com
PULLMAN — A large and vocal contingent of fans packed the stands, lined the hillside overlooking Lower Soccer Field, and watched from balconies and windows of nearby WSU residence halls