by WSU Athletics
SANTA CLARA, Calif – Washington State women's soccer allowed three goals in the second period which sealed their 3-0 defeat against No. 23 Santa Clara, Sunday.
In their final nonconference match of the season, the Cougars (6-2-1) started the day strong. They controlled the run of play throughout the first half holding the advantage in shots (6-4) and corners (2-1), and went in the half with no points on the board for either team.
In the 11th minute, Washington State saw its first opportunity to get on the board when Bronco keeper Andi Tostanoski lost her footing after a long shot from the Cougars. Tostanoski was able to just deflect the ball enough for the Broncos to recover and kick the ball out of bounds.
The best scoring chance for Washington State came just minutes after the start of the second half when senior Brandi Vega tried to capitalize on a one-on-one shot with the goalkeeper. Her shot just missed, hitting the far-right post and allowing the Broncos to once again kick the ball out of bounds.
The first goal for Santa Clara came in the 55th minute when Julie Johnson headed in a corner kick from teammate Sarah Jackson. In the 75th minute the Broncos added to their lead, and they closed out the match with a third goal in the 89th minute of play.
"Today we played a very good Santa Clara team and they punished us for our mistakes," commented Cougar head coach Keidane McAlpine. "We played some good soccer today, but we need to be better in the final third."
McAlpine added, "Santa Clara was very efficient in front of the net, but we were very unfortunate with the call that gave them their second goal. Then the third goal came because we were trying to chase the game."
Washington State held the statistical advantage throughout the game, although those numbers were not reflected on the scoreboard. The Cougars outshot the Broncos 10-8 and tied them in corners 4-4.
