Cougars hold No. 8 Tennessee to draw

PULLMAN — Depending on which team you talked to, Sunday’s soccer game between Washington State and No. 8 Tennessee was either a win or a loss. In reality, it was neither.

The Cougars and Lady Vols played 110 minutes — two halves and two overtimes — without registering a single goal, resulting in a 0-0 tie.

“A tie is considered a loss to me,” Tennessee coach Angela Kelly said. “Unfortunately we didn’t finish and that’s a credit to Washington State.”

Countered WSU coach Matt Potter: “I consider this a positive result. … I’m very proud of the team. We’ve set ourselves a standard again that we can’t allow to drop. The work ethic was fantastic.”

By all accounts except the one on the scoreboard, Tennessee dominated the Cougars’ home opener. But WSU managed to make just enough plays near its own net to protect the tie.

The Lady Vols managed 28 shots to the Cougars’ nine, but keeper Katie Hultin made 11 saves and controlled the ball when WSU needed it most.

“It’s not necessarily easier, but you definitely stay focused and keep everyone around you focused,” Hultin said of having to make so many saves. “It’s fun. Megan (Cecchini) made the job a lot easier for me.”

Cecchini, a senior defender who played all 110 minutes, made what might have been the play of the game halfway through the second overtime. The Lady Vols’ Kayla Lockaby had a clean look at the Cougar net from close range, but Cecchini slid in at the last second to block the shot before it could get to Hultin, extending the game.

“I just was not going to let those girls score,” Cecchini said. “I didn’t want them to get anything.”

Tennessee actually did put the ball in the back of the net just 43 seconds into the first overtime, but as the Lady Vols began celebrating the referee whistled for an offside that canceled the goal and kept the Cougars alive.

WSU’s strategy was to possess the ball in its own end and look for the long ball. But the Cougars struggled to keep the ball away from Tennessee, forcing much of the play to stay deep in their own end.

But against a top-10 team, the rebuilding Cougars were more than happy to lock down on defense and hang on for dear life until the final horn sounded.

“Once again, we showed that we’ve got great potential,” Potter said. “But we also showed that we’ve got some things that when we have possession of the ball that we have to make more solid goal-scoring opportunities.

“Tennessee is a very good team. They’ve not been to the Sweet 16 or the Elite 8 for no reason. They’re good, and they showed that. What we lacked in terms of our possession we more than made up for in our determination and work ethic.”