WSU 1, Utah 0: Cougs get back in win column

The Washington State soccer team defeated Utah 1-0 on Sunday afternoon to cap off a homecoming weekend in Pullman. While the offense was not as hot as it was earlier in September, Nadia Cooper was stellar in goal and racked up 5 saves to keep the Utes from scoring.

Senior Grayson Lynch scored early in this one with a goal in the 9th minute on an assist from Lindsey Turner. Lynch jumped between a defender and the Utes keeper to receive the deep pass from Turner. She then gathered herself and hit a left footed shot to an empty goal to give the Cougs the early lead.

There was only one goal needed in this one thanks to the great performance from Cooper. She finished with 5 saves on 12 shots from the Utes. Four of her saves came in the first half but her biggest one likely came right near the end of the match. She had to lay out to her right and just got a hand on the ball to deflect it away and keep the Utes from getting on the board.

The 12 shots she faced is the most she has faced this season and has only faced double-digits once this season. Her 5 saves also was the most this season as she now has 20 throughout the 11 games this season.

Head coach Todd Shulenberger notched his 89th victory as the Cougars head coach on Sunday. The win moves him to the top of the list as the all-time leader in victories.

The Cougs will hit the road this next weekend when they head to California to take on the Bears on Thursday in Berkley at 3:00 pm. They will then head to Palo Alto to take on Stanford on Sunday at noon.