WSU plays Iowa at Minnesota today! (live stream on BTN Plus) 11:00 PDT scheduled start time has been delayed 4 hours for rain, boo. So I have about ... 1 hour in which to catch up! Whee! ======================= Graduated (or departed) in 2017: ======================= MF sr #7 Chelsea Harkins MF sr #17 Sofia Anker-Kofoed RB sr #4 Kelsee Crenshaw LB sr #8 Jordan Branch FW so #14 Emele Chaddock FW so #23 McKenna Sullivan MF so #26 Raven Sweeney DF fr #33 Lauryn Payne ======================= Returning: (starters/most minutes in bold) ======================= GK r.sr #00 Ella Dederick GK r.jr #1 Emma Dahline FW so #3 Makamae Gomera-Stevens FW jr #6 Morgan Weaver FW so #9 Brianna Alger FW so #11 Shanya Dhindsa FW jr #12 Katie Jones FW so #13 Elyse Bennett FW so #28 Gabriella Crenshaw FW r.jr #29 Alysha Overland (she's back in action, after a medical redshirt in 2017) MF so #5 Jamie Rita MF so #9 Sydney Pulver MF r.jr #22 Shayna Whieldon MF sr #24 Maegan O'Neill LCB sr #16 Grace Hancock DF so #18 Sarah Davidson LB sr #19 Maddy Haro RB so #20 Aaqila McLyn DF so #21 Hanna Goff ======================= Newbies: ======================= FW fr #14 Molly Myers FW fr #17 Hailey Smith FW sr #27 Mariah Rojas (Louisiana Tech) MF r.fr #2 Marin Auth MF fr #8 Gracie Armstrong DF fr #7 Elaily Hernandez-Repreza DF RCB #23 Mykiaa Minniss DF fr #51 Kelis Barton GK r.fr #15 Courtney Worstell GK r.jr #25 Rachel Thompson Also, one player (defender or midfield) wore #41 last weekend, which does not appear on the roster, nor on any of the 3 box score PDFs. Maybe that was just a jersey swap, due to ... blood and no spare?
2018/08/10 Fri San Diego 1-2 Washington State (N.B. home teams first, throughout this thread) 29' 1-0 #2 Summer Mason (unassisted) 80' 1-0 Straight red card on #5 Devyn Kelsey 83' 1-1 #19 Maddy Haro (unassisted) 85' 1-2 #10 Brianna Alger shot blocked, #6 Morgan Weaver putback No video snippets. WSU didn't describe the red card, and USD didn't even mention it. I'm guessing DOGSO, perhaps on this play: 80' - Washington State sneaks through for a breakaway but Jara challenges the shot and forces it wide.— San Diego Women's Soccer (@USDwsoccer) August 10, 2018 19 Cougars got minutes. That's going to be a theme all year long. This was during the PNW heat wave, with Pullman daily highs > 100°F. At the time of this game, it was 98°F in Pullman, and 88°F in San Diego. We joke that the team flew south, where it's cooler
2018/08/17 Fri Washington State 3-1 Seattle (Pac-12 WA) Attendance 1,890! (Fall semester classes begin 08/24 Mon) 13' 0-1 Seattle fk at 8m box left. Scripted sync play, #24 Jessie Ray starts out in the scrum at 10m 2/5 left, front-cuts past Bennett toward 6-top left post. #5 Isabelle Butterfield(?) low cross inswings to 4m 2-left (she slightly underhits it), Ray adjusts better and lunges to it, stoops and back-heads a glancer under Dederick's gloves, into goal center and already way over the line before Hancock knees it up into the roof. Jessie finishes a great ⚽️ from Laura for our goal last night!#TogetherWeSoar pic.twitter.com/zdxiL36isk— SU Women's Soccer (@seattleuwsoc) August 18, 2018 1H 0-1 August jitters, no great flow yet. WSU seemed a little static. We have no great dribbling speed advantage, so we can't just drive past anybody. We often get caught in midfield congestion, doggedly dribbling/turning 1-v-1, while the frontline are almost stationary across box top, not making runs or cuts. I credit Seattle for playing deep in their own 1/2 and making the field congested. (To be fair, Seattle had an even harder time getting forward.)
36' 1-1 LB Haro dribbles up wide left, sees Weaver with inside position on 3 up centerline, crosses from 22m wide left to 8m 1/4 left. Ball drops just over #14 Ovenell's jumping header try, Weaver judges it better and drills a header down to goalline 1/5 left, bouncing in past GK Curry's dive. Replay | 36' | The Equalizer from @morgan_weaver8 off the pinpoint pass from @maddyharo | 1-1 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/Tp67UTSDfz— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 18, 2018 49' 2-1 One of many WSU direct plays pays off: Bennett splits 2 through circle top, deep pass goes left instead and finds Weaver in stride down box left lane. Bennett correctly stays behind ball on a parallel run, Weaver skips a ground cross from arc top box left to 9m right post -- slightly too far. Bennett races Curry coming out, slide-pokes under Curry (and they knock shins), ball rolls just inside right post low. REPLAY | 49' | Elyse Bennett taps home the go-ahead goal as @morgan_weaver8 finds her running mate in stride | 2-1 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/TnJJhr4joS— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 18, 2018 59' 3-1 Weaver receives facing way at arc top wide left, dribbles away from #18 Emily Zimmer, turns to 25m box left and shoots right foot hard across box, aiming on-frame for right post. Hapless GK Curry misjudges it, thinks it's wide left and does not dive, stays upright sliding across and -- watches it bounce just inside right post. An unexpected shot -- it worked because it looked so non-threatening. Replay | 59' | The Cougar superstar is having herself a night, a second goal for @Morgan_Weaver8 | 3-1 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/GLqvt0pFAT— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 18, 2018 FT 3-1.
2018/08/19 Sun Washington State 1-0 Grand Canyon (1OT) Attendance 1,075 We had the Sunday blahs, racking up stat domination with no end product. We blazed shots just wide, just over, off wood, etc. On defense, we stifled Grand Canyon's counters all game. Our ideas did look a bit better. 49' 0-0 Gomera-Stevens dribbles around 1 to arc top, passes to Alger at 12m box left. Alger crosses from 7m box left to 5m right post, Gomera-Stevens outjumps 1 and heads down hard to 3m 1/5 right -- it bounces directly to GK Burton. Pretty good pattern execution, but Burton matched it, too. 49' | The give and go works to perfection but @kapua_makamae header is saved on the line | 0-0 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/TVueXS1b5y— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 19, 2018 71' 0-0 WSU pass from circle top springs Myers (fr!) through box top mid-left. Myers touches to 10m 7-left, shoots left foot across mouth past Burton, off right post and away. 71' | Molly Myers robbed by the woodwork | 0-0 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/1R8PpjuySM— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 19, 2018
84' 0-0 Grand Canyon takes a shot! AER 0-0. 092' 1-0 Haro turns cw at 23m mid-left, passes to Alger at box top left and runs a wheel route past her. Alger backheels down box left, Haro touches past 1 to 0.5m mid-left. Ground cross skips to 4m 1/4 right, hits either Weaver's left shin or her defender, bounces across the 6 to 4m 1/3 left. Myers plants at 6-top center, wins the track start and outraces five players converging on ball, one-touch left instep rising past Burton into 1/4 right 1/2 high. That endline cross with defenders facing the wrong way should always create mayhem. HIGHLIGHT | 92' | Molly Myers with the game-winner just two minutes into overtime | 1-0 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/fkjnbexkSo— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 19, 2018 WSU 24!(8)-(0)2 shots(sog), 14-01 corners, 9-11 fouls. It was almost a tale of Grand Canyon's valiant defending stealing a point on the road, until we stole it back. Next to me on the hill, a person-attending-soccer-match (not yet a fan) asked her colleague, "Twenty shots? Is that a lot?" So wonder we all
2018/08/21 Tue At 2-0, WSU gets ranked #22 in all 3 polls: United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA), Soccer America, and Top Drawer Soccer. I think that's mostly a carryover from our R3 run last year, which was itself a quite wondrous feat. But this team should reasonably be at least as strong as last year. We're here until somebody takes our hashrank away LB sr. Maddy Haro wins the week 1 Pac-12 Defensive PotW, for three assists on WSU's 4 goals.
WSU's backline in 2018 looks like this so far: LB Haro (sr); LCB Hancock (sr); RCB Minniss (fr); RB McLyn (so) Haro and Hancock are 4-year starters, with oodles of experience at high levels. Haro takes most of WSU's corners, and frequently supports attacks from her LB spot. Hancock saves balls off our own goalline (ahem). McLyn is part of 2017's strong freshman class, most of whom played right away in our FW/MF platoons, so she has a full year of experience. The one new defender is #23 Mykiaa Minniss, currently slotted at RCB. I peered at her footwork closely, and noted thus: - good ball-receive/ball-stop (short radius, little to no clang) - good foot skills - decisive decision-making: she fits seamlessly so far in our fast lateral backline switches - quick feet: she likes to actively run around a ball-receiver who's trying to shield her off, and block or steal the entry pass as it arrives WSU's midfield and forwards ... sub frequently
2018/08/24 Fri Iowa - Washington State (at Minnesota) postponed (rain) 09:00 PDT => lightning 10:35 PDT => weather 15:00 PDT => postponed Weather wins again, today's match with Iowa has been postponed indefinitely. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/tJ9pp26F9R— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 24, 2018 From WSU's blurb: "The two teams have reserved the right to reschedule the contest at a later date, but no date or makeup has been scheduled." I dunno how you'd schedule a make-up game for what was a neutral-site match. Maybe it becomes an extra weeknight home game, and one team flies out to the other. The Minnesota - Ole Miss doubleheader match is still on, scheduled for 19:30 CDT later tonight.
2018/08/26 Sun 09:00 PDT <= time change from 11:00 due to weather (+3=0-0) Minnesota - Washington State (+2=0-0, +1 postponed) Live video: BTN2Go (needs auth) Live stats: Sidearm Live tweets: Minnesota / WSU We deduce from Minnesota's record that they won Friday evening vs. Ole Miss, 2-1 (2OT). (07' Ole Miss off a ck, 52' Minnesota tied, 109' sudden victory -- kind of like WSU's win vs. Grand Canyon.)
06' 0-1 Haro left throw-in(?) at box top. Weaver is tying up a defender fronting her at 10m mid-left. Ball drops just over that defender's jumping header try, bounces untouched past both, Weaver not jumping is first to spin to it. A 3rd(?) defender leaves Makamae Gomera-Stevens alone at spot and closes on Weaver. Weaver crosses at 4m 7-left -- blocked point-blank, and then that defender slides under and topples Weaver upon her. Ball leaks out, no call either way (defender got ball, rest of contact incidental). Weaver wins the push-up race (possibly aided by push-up on supine back), steps around defender still down , to 1m 6-left. Simple ground cross to 5m 1/4 left, Gomera-Stevens one-touch right instep chip across mouth, rising past GK Nielsen into 1/4 right 3/4 high. 6' | GOOOOAAAALLLL @kapua_makamae the Cougs' sophomore with her first goal of the season | 1-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/l1N7MYW9Ah— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 26, 2018
33' 0-1 What a cluster of ... legs. WSU chase a ball bouncing to 12m 3-right(?), legs get undercut, players topple. No call, no call, you get a no call 33' | Big scramble in front of the Minn net but the Cougs can't squeak it by the defense | 1-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/HNtJH6oQxy— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 26, 2018 HT 0-1. Minnesota 3(0)-(2)6 shots(sog), 4-1 corners, 2-6 fouls.
55' 0-1 Minnesota left ck, Bockin drives it tight to 1m left post. WSU post defender heads it up across mouth, ball drops at 2m 3-right. Heslin nods down to goalline 1/6 right, Hancock as far-post defender stops it on goalline, Dederick falls on it. 55' | @ellaadederickk forced to make her first save as the Cougs scramble to defend the corner | 1-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/LFb9NwwyoU— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 26, 2018 60' 0-1 2H humidity break 64' 0-1 Weaver spins ccw to 22m center, steps into right foot shot toward right post low, Nielsen dives and pushes it wide. She's done this before 61' | @morgan_weaver8 winds up and takes a crack from deep but it's pushed wide | 1-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/ogFHONKhog— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 26, 2018
77' 0-2 Haro right ck, high over the scrum to 6m 5-left-ish. A Coug (Gomera-Stevens?) screens her defender, creating a pocket of free space behind her. Mykiaa Minniss (fr. ) is momentarily unmarked thereat, outjumps everybody and pikes a header down to ~3m left post, it bounces up to face-height left post, and deflects(?) up into left roof. 3rd cap, 1st goal. 77' | GOOOOAAAALLLLL the freshman Mykiaa Minniss with the perfect header off the Haro corner | 2-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/qO8VejIjIm— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) August 26, 2018 FT 0-2! Minnesota 6(2)-(4)10 shots(sog), 5-4 corners, 5-12 fouls, 1-2 offside.
Matchday conflict! Soccer has been weather-bumped up -1 hour, to 16:00 PDT ... whence it shall run concurrently with wvb at #17 Northern Iowa. 2018/08/31 Fri 16:00 PDT (+3=1-0) &26 Nebraska - Washington State #18 (+3=0-0) (using +W=D-L format) Live stream: BTN Plus [subscription] Live stats: Nebraska's Live Stats Live tweets: WSU | Nebraska Anyways, I don't subscribe to BTN Plus
Still only one keyboard 21' 0-0 WSU foul in own box. Neither side tweeted whom, and the live stat PBP doesn't identify, either. 22' 1-0 Savanah Uveges pk HT 1-0.
55' 1-1 Elyse Bennett cuts right to ~25m center-ish, shoots right foot through Nebraska's high line to right post, GK Corder dives and misses. 55' | WHAT A SHOT, @elyse_bennett99 from downtown ties the game in Lincoln | 1-1 #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/VJFXFUaSy6— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 1, 2018 65' 1-2 Brianna Alger steals near arc tangent left, quick pass to Alysha Overland sneaking unmarked through box top right post. Overland touches to 9m right post, Corder comes out past 6m and slides down, Overland threads a right foot shot past her left hand, it rolls just inside right post low. 65' | WELCOME BACK ALYSHA OVERLAND, the junior nets her first goal since 2016 and the Cougs have the lead | 2-1 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/vvWzym1lHB— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 1, 2018 FT 1-2! Nebraska 14(7)-(4)9 shots(sog*), 4-3 corners, 8-18 fouls, 3-1 offsides (plural ). (* = shots on goal deduced as saves + goals)
Steadily falling behind 2018/08/28 Tue: After the road win at Minnesota, fr.(!) LBC Mykiaa Minniss won Week 2 Pac-12 DotW, for WSU's 2nd in a row in the first 2 weeks. "Just" pitch a shut-out and score (+3=0-0) WSU moves up from #22 (in all 3 polls) to #18 (in all 3 polls), then won at Nebraska (see above).
2018/09/04 Tue: (+4=0-0) WSU moves up from #18 (all 3 polls) to #17 United Soccer Coaches / #12 Soccer America / #14 TopDrawer. 2018/09/06 Thu 19:00 PDT (+4=0-0) #17 Washington State - Idaho (+2=0-3) Attendance 1,200 -- perfect evening weather WSU outran Idaho all night, and spent most of the game probing and seiging in Idaho's 1/2. GK Ella Dederick suffered an unspecified leg injury that forced her off with assistance; no word yet. 38' 1-0 #19 sr. Maddy Haro right ck, tight inswinger to 1m left post. #24 sr. Maegan O'Neill jumps with two defenders but reads it better, heads upward over both into left 90. GK Presgrave was boxed out by her own teammates. I hope our corner kick scoring does not depart with these two. HIGHLIGHT | The senior connection is strong once again as Maegan O'Neil squeaks it inside the post off the corner from @maddyharo #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/j6B9w1Jfuf— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 7, 2018
~47' 1-0 Idaho fk into WSU's box. Dederick comes into the scrum at 10m 1/3 left, jumps and punches clear, lands heavily on side and stays down. Ball pings around, finally cleared. Stoppage, trainer, Dederick resumes. 60' 1-0 Weaver shoots from arc left juuuust wide right low. 69' 1-0 Weaver shoots from 15m mid-right toward left post low, Presgrave dives and micro-touches it just wide. 71' 2-0 Haro left throw-in, to Weaver spinning past RB #28 Blickenstaff at arc top wide left. Weaver drives toward 12m box left, then cuts behind #8 Johnson through 13m box left, then hooks another cutback behind Blickenstaff overpursuing, and gets to 16m mid-left, going rightward. Weaver pulls right foot shot hard toward left post, Presgrave dives at 1m and blocks ball down. Ball bounces across mouth and sidespins over line, just ahead of Presgrave's 2nd dive. Weaver has done this going-rightward-right foot pull shot before, c.f. the Seattle goal and Minnesota shot. HIGHLIGHT | @morgan_weaver8 makes 'em all miss and gets enough to get it past the keeper for her 3rd goal of the year #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/AbG0AYaq6z— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 7, 2018
74' 2-0 Idaho dumps a ball down box left to 5m. GK #00 Ella Dederick sprints out to clear it -- then stumbles while stooping, faceplants, slides out to 4m mid-left and stays down, with ball still live behind her. Idaho correctly continues playing, ground cross to ~9m center, pass try into 1/3 right low cleared off line by Minniss(?). Long stoppage, trainers, Dederick stays down on back. Eventually, trainer + teammate help Dederick limp off field, favoring right leg. GK #25 (r.jr) Rachel Thompson subs in for Dederick. Off the field, trainer appears to apply ... stability tests to both legs No word yet, tho. After the match, Dederick walked normally (if gingerly) through the handshake line. 77' 3-0 Thompson punts to circle top, ball bounces untouched to 27m center. RCB #21 Dopke(?) jumps behind Overland's turned back and pikes a clearance header away -- but ball goes barely 1m forward, hits #17 (fr.) Hailey Smith's shin, reflects into Smith's stride. Smith has wondrous acceleration, back-cuts behind LCB #20 Frederick(?) at circle top and spins her around, and is unmarked to 11m right post. Presgrave commits early and dives to intercept a first-chance shot toward left post, but Smith stutters feet, shoots 2nd step right foot behind Presgrave, into 1/3 left 2/3 high. Smith's 1st career goal, and Thompson's 1st career assist HIGHLIGHT | @hailey_smitty with the smooth finish off the first career assist from Coug keeper Rachel Thompson, what a boot | 3-0 WSU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/MNwGNlhB4w— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 7, 2018 WSU 22(8)-(3)4 shots(sog), 9-1 corners, 12-6 fouls, and 22 players got minutes. We don't play again this week-end, so we await word and watch carnage elsewhere.
2018/09/11 Tue: (+5=0-0) WSU creeps upward by 1: #16 United Soccer Coaches (was #17), #13 TopDrawer (was #14), #12 SoccerAmerica (same). I'm not convinced we're really better than teams ranked below us, but ... based on the data, the pool of teams that can plausibly be ranked above us shrinks every week 2018/09/14 Fri 19:00 PDT: Double-header weekend! (+5=0-0) #16 Washington State - Montana (+1=2-4) Stream: WSU Live Stream Stats: StatBroadcast I shall attend, lift, crash, and report later.
Welp, wvb went four sets starting at 17:00, finishing just in time to overlap here No announcement yet on GK Dederick's leg injury, but she's still out. GK #25 Rachel Thompson gets her 1st start! 02' 1-0 #3 Makamae Gomera-Stevens back-cuts #14 Otteson at 30m mid-right and spins her around, pulls away from her to 21m arc right. #16 Adams steps up to intercept, Gomera-Stevens back-cuts behind her, touches to 17m right post. Right instep bend on the run, floats over GK #00 Howard's dive, just inside right post 3/4 high. HIGHLIGHT | No need for help, @kapua_makamae with the opening goal at the 2:01 mark in the first half #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/kaFdk0GIDQ— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 15, 2018
Catching up 34' 2-0 Haro switches to Gomera-Stevens at 23m box right. Adams steps up, Gomera-Stevens cuts inside past her to arc top right. Nobody else challenges, Gomera-Stevens chips left instep on the run, floats it over Howard, into left 90 HIGHLIGHT | Have yourself a night @kapua_makamae, taking the great feed from @maddyharo | 2-0 WSU#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/LeFhgcD8zK— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 15, 2018 44' 2-0 The entire team seems to sense that they have short-cut positioning advantage, and we try many, many long shots on frame. #4 (fr.) Ebony Clarke does a step-into-seam and long shot from 25m box right, on-frame to center high, Howard jump-tips it wide left. 44' | Ebony Clarke just misses her first collegiate goal | 2-0 WSU#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/pWBS9oleaF— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 15, 2018 Perhaps this was the week's emphasis in training? Then keep doing it until they stop it HT 2-0. WSU 12(5)-(2)5 shots(sog), 1-1 corners, 6-3 fouls.
70' 3-0 Haro right ck, high to 5m 1/3 left, dropping steeply past 3 jumping defenders. O'Neill reads it better, jump-heads down toward 1/4 left, Howard dives that way -- then ball deflects off #27 Warren's chest/forearms behind Howard's dive to goalline center, bounces into 1/4 right back. HIGHLIGHT | @Maeganoneill23 with her second goal of the year off the corner, of course it came from none other than @maddyharo #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/xW2YR5KgXz— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 15, 2018 FT 3-0. WSU 20(8)-(2)7 shots(sog), 6-2 corners, 12-9 fouls. This Haro-to-O'Neill('s head) ck connection is very refreshing, after nearly a decade of dearth. But -- they're both seniors Who's up next? Minniss (fr.) has one already