No. 21-ranked WSU soccer team makes push for more offense

The fun factor was pretty high Sunday at Washington State’s Lower Soccer Field.

On a perfect day for soccer, the Cougars and a crowd of 1,305 were rewarded with a 4-2 win over UCLA that served several purposes:

It kept them in the Pac-12 race and the NCAA poll – the Cougars are ranked 21st this week – and offered up for crowd approval the aggressive approach of first-year coach Todd Shulenberger.

This from a program that’s been winning primarily with defense. Times are changing.

“We tried, in our mobility today, to unbalance UCLA as much as we could and we did a good job with it,” Shulenberger said.

“We can play more attacking soccer and still be a great defensive team,” Shulenberger said.

True enough. The Cougars have conceded just 11 goals in as many matches while breaking in a new goalkeeper, but they’re pushing the ball forward.

And they’re finishing. Forwards Kourtney Guetlein and Kaitlyn Johnson have combined for nine goals and seven assists while presenting different challenge for opponents.

Guetlein, a fifth-year senior from Colorado whom Shulenberger describes as a “physical specimen and a dominating force on the field,” takes a slashing approach, while Johnson, a junior takes a straight-line approach to the goal.

That came in handy Sunday. With the match tied 2-2, the Cougars’ Cara Wegner fired a hard shot that the Bruin keeper couldn’t handle. Johnson pounced on the rebound, poking it into the back of the net from eight yards out for the eventual winner.

“That’s what big players do,” Shulenberger said after the match.

Others are joining the fun; 10 different players have combined for 22 goals. Wegner and Beau Bremer also scored against UCLA.

The win was doubly important, coming three days after a 1-0 home loss to USC. That match drew 1,015 fans, many of whom returned Sunday to form the second-largest home crowd in WSU history,

“It was nice to have some crowd mojo,” Shulenberger said. “Sundays are tough, but that crowd helped us beat UCLA.”

Eastern Washinton

The Eagles are off to the best start in school history after a 1-0 win Sunday over Portland State that also clinched its first 10-win season.

Eastern, 10-1-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky Conference, got the only goal it would need in the 39th minute, when Tasha Luu took the ball from a PSU defender, went one-on-one with the keeper and put the ball in the upper net.

Two days earlier, the Eagles got two goals from Central Valley product Savannah Hoekstra to beat Sacramento State 3-1.

The Eagles face perhaps their toughest challenge of the season on Friday, when they play at defending regular season champion Montana.

Whitworth men

The Pirates aren’t perfect anymore, but they’re ranked No. 3 in the Division III ranks after getting a win at Pacific and a tie at George Fox over the weekend.

Whitworth (9-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the Northwest Conference, is off to its best start in program history.

On Friday in Forest Grove, Oregon, the Pirates got a conference-leading eighth goal of the season from St. George’s prodcut Karl Muelheims.

Two days later, Sam Engle’s penalty kick in the 78th minute gave the Pirates a 1-1 tie at Forest Grove.