College soccer notes: Cougs, Eags, Zags regroup
For several regional women’s college soccer teams, it’s time to regroup.
Washington State, Gonzaga and Eastern Washington all faced reverses last week – just as they were building some midseason momentum.
The Cougars were coming off a successful trip to the Bay Area that launched them into the rankings for the first time this season, only to suffer a 4-1 home loss on Friday to unranked Arizona.
Two days later, WSU played through a scoreless tie with Arizona State to fall to 2-2-1 in the Pac-12 and 7-2-3 overall.
“We did a lot in the first 25 minutes to control the game, but we did not do a good job finishing the chances we created,” WSU coach Steve Nugent said after losing an early 1-0 lead to Arizona.
Against Arizona State, the Cougars tied a school record, set in 2001, with 16 corner kicks, including eight in the first half.
They also held a 19-11 advantage in shots, but couldn’t put the ball past ASU keeper Chandler Morris.
WSU will host Oregon on Sunday.
Gonzaga
The Zags held tough for 60 minutes Saturday at 23rd-ranked BYU, but gave up two second-half goals in their first West Coast Conference loss of the season.
“We saw a lot of positives, but the four-minute span with giving up two goals was tough to overcome, even with our dangerous chances in the last 10 minutes,” said coach Amy Edwards, whose team fell to 3-1 in the WCC and 8-6 overall.
“I am certain this experience today will make us better for our remaining five games.”
The Bulldogs will host Loyola Marymount on Friday; on Sunday eighth-ranked Pepperdine (3-0-1 WCC) will come to Spokane.
Eastern Washington
The Eagles’ high-scoring machine ground to a halt Sunday against new Big Sky Conference member Idaho, which scored two minutes into the second half of a 1-0 win.
The Eagles had scored in 10 straight matches, including a 4-0 nonconference win over the Vandals earlier this season, but gave up the match-winner on a shot by sophomore Gabby Leong.
“We weren’t as sharp in front of the goal and I thought were reacting a lot instead of anticipating,” said first-year coach Chad Bodnar, whose club dropped to 2-3 in the Big Sky and 5-6 overall.
EWU is at Southern Utah on Friday and Northern Arizona on Sunday.
Idaho is only 4-10-1 overall, but 4-1-1 in the conference going into home matches against Weber State on Friday and Idaho State on Sunday.