Cougars take to road again

The Washington State University women’s soccer team is in familiar territory this week. The Cougars are on the road again.

That’s been the case all season, with the exception of a Sept. 9 home match against Wake Forest. Some of the trips have been short, like the eight-mile jaunt to Idaho, while others sent the Cougars into SEC country.

WSU’s travel experiences and its 5-1 record on road/neutral fields have coach Matt Potter optimistic for this week’s visits to 17th-ranked Cal Poly on Friday and Nevada on Sunday.

“It’s probably as tough a road trip as you’ll come across,” Potter said. “Cal Poly is obviously playing well and that’s a tough trip in itself, and then Nevada plays on FieldTurf on a football field, but we’re excited about it. In terms of road trips, we’ve seen everything we need to handle it.”

WSU (5-2 overall) won twice at the Oregon State Nike Invitational in Corvallis during the weekend.

“I’m just pleased with the energy of the whole team,” Potter said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm and that hard work is carrying us forward and giving us a chance in every game we’re in.”

Freshman Megan Hyte notched her fourth game-winning goal in just seven career games.

“She’s definitely making an impression and turning heads,” Potter said. “It’s exciting for her, but a lot of the credit goes to her teammates that are taking away some of the attention (opponents) are putting toward Megan.”

Pirates start fast

The Whitworth women, who lost All-Northwest Conference forward Jael Hagerott two weeks ago to a torn ACL, are 2-0 in the conference.

“I thought we had a talented group,” coach Sean Bushey said. “Even without Jael, I thought we’d be able to compete. Willamette was a good win for us because they’re always toward the top of the pack.”

The Pirates followed that 2-0 win over Willamette on Saturday with a 2-0 shutout of George Fox on Sunday. Goalkeeper Jenn Miller played through illness to register 10 saves against the Bruins.

“She was throwing up in the morning and before the game and on the road trip on the way home,” Bushey said. “But she was outstanding during the game.”

Cards dealin’ in SWAC

It didn’t take long for North Idaho College to reach the halfway point of the inaugural Scenic West Athletic Conference season.

NIC’s men are 5-0-3, 2-0-1 in the SWAC while the women are 6-2, 3-1. The women have played more games because there are five SWAC teams to the four for the men. Snow’s club team is listed in the standings on the SWAC Web site, but the Badgers apparently aren’t an official member because they don’t travel.

“It’s kind of what we expected,” said Dan Hogan, who coaches both NIC programs. “It’s a little on the weak side as teams are gearing up to be varsity sports. The guys are doing really well and I think my focus and (assistant coach) Scott Moorcroft’s focus is keeping them focused on down the road and making sure we get better each time out.”

Notes

Gonzaga’s men (2-1-1) have six straight home matches, beginning today with a visit from Oregon State at 4 p.m. and followed by the Gonzaga Nike Soccer Classic later this week. Gonzaga will play Jacksonville at 4 p.m. Friday and UW-Milwaukee at 2 p.m. Sunday. George Josten has scored two goals and has two assists in GU’s four matches… . Eastern Washington’s women (1-6-1) face a Friday match at unbeaten BYU (8-0) before opening Big Sky play next week… . Idaho (2-5) is on a three-game losing streak and the latest setback didn’t sit well with coach Pete Showler. “I don’t understand how we let teams dictate the game when we know we are a better soccer side than they are,” said Showler, referring to Montana, a 2-0 winner over the Vandals on Sunday.