Cougar men will rely on new players as they look to continue last year's winning ways.
The WSU men’s club soccer season has begun, and the team is off to a 1-1 start. The Cougars started the season in a game against nearby rival Gonzaga University, where the team suffered a 2-1 defeat. “It was a difficult game. It was our first competitive game as a team, so we had a lot of kinks that we had to work out,” said Jason Hawkes, a senior communication major. The team rebounded in the following game and trounced Eastern Washington University in a 7-0 shutout.
“The victory gave the guys a lot of confidence in the way they were able to work as one, and put forth a stellar effort against Eastern. We meshed a lot better, and we played a lot better as a team than we did in the previous game,” said Ryan Wallace, a senior management information systems major. Last season the Cougars finished undefeated with a 4-0 record and made it to the Northwest Collegiate Club Soccer League semifinals, where they lost to Central Washington University 1-0. After an impressive season last year, the Cougars are looking for some of their new players to step up their game and help the team return to last year's form. “We lost a lot of seniors last year, but we have a lot of new freshmen that will be solid for us,” Hawkes said.
There is extra incentive to perform well in the conference tournaments because a big win at the end of the season could mean a cash prize. As a student-run organization, the only other way the team can afford to travel is to raise money through fundraisers and donations. “Winning the conference tournament gives the winning team prize money, which will allow us to travel out-of-state,” Wallace said. “We would really like to travel to California and play some teams so we can really show our talents.” Coming up Saturday is a game against Central Washington. After losing to Central last season in the conference tournament, the Cougars are looking to get a bit of revenge on the Wildcats. “Our biggest rivalry is with Central, every game that we have played against them has been a battle. Basically, this week we are going to show how dominant we can be in this league,” Hawkes said. The team will make a push to get back and go deep into the conference tournament, and the players are more than confident they have a good chance of doing so. “I expect us to do well in our conference, first place is definitely a possibility for us,” said Brandt Lyse, a senior economics major.
The season for the Cougars is made up of six regular season games followed by the conference tournament. The team has three home games left. These games include one against Gonzaga on Oct. 11 followed by a game against Eastern Washington on Oct. 12. For updated times and dates visit the team website at www.menssoccer.wsu.edu.
