Cougs down Mustangs for fourth straight win

For the fourth straight time, the Washington State soccer team walked off the pitch with a victory after beating Cal Poly 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Lower Soccer Field in Pullman. Head coach Todd Shulenberger currently has the Cougs sitting at 4-1-1 after a slow start to the season.

Washington State came into this game outshooting opponents 107-30 and that did not slow down during this one. The defense held tough once again and allowed the Mustangs to get off just six shots, while the offense put up 29 on the day. Of the 29 shots, 13 were on goal compared to the Mustangs 2.

The looks were there early for the Cougs but it was the Mustangs who found the back of the net first. Olivia Ortiz stopped the Cougs run and was able to score off an assist from McKenna Carbon in the 32nd minute of the match.

The Mustangs lead did not last long at all as the Cougs turned right back around and Lily Boyden hit the equalizer for her first goal of her career just 30 seconds later. MacKenzie Frimpong-Ellertson passed the ball across the field to Boyden who was able to thread the needle between three defenders and hit the top-right side of the net.

The Mustangs finally caught a break from the massive amount of shots the Cougs were putting up and the were able to break the tie in the 52nd minute right after half. Megan Hanson took advantage of a penalty kick to give them back the lead.

Once again, that lead did not last long as Lindsey Turner cleaned up a rebound in the 56th minute to tie the match back up once again. And just like Boyden, the goal was Turner’s first of her career with the Cougs. Turner, who was planted right in front of the goal, did not need much to tie the game back up as the goalie had basically vacated her spot to stop Margie Detrizio shot from the right side.

Senior forward Grayson Lynch would end up hitting the game winner in the 74th minute off an assist from Detrizio. Her rocket from the top of the box found the top of the goal for her third consecutive game with a goal.

The Cougs will wrap up their final two non-conference games of the season this week as they host Northern Colorado on Thursday at 7:00 pm and then head to California to take on Saint Mary’s on Sunday at 1:00 pm.