It was all Cougs, all night in Pullman.
The University of Northern Colorado (4-3-2) fell to Washington State (5-1-1) in a 6-0 shutout on Thursday night.
This was the team’s third loss in a row, following tough contests against James Madison and Virginia Tech. It was also the team’s worst loss and first shutout of the regular season.
UNC struggled in all areas against the Power Five foe, giving up five goals and allowing an own goal in the 22nd minute.
Wazzu got on the board in the 11th minute, scoring in the bottom right corner. Then, the Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the 22nd minute. UNC junior defender Lucy Roberts attempted to deflect the ball out of the box, but it bounced off her body into the net instead.
The home team was able to score a third time one minute later, before adding a fourth score in the 27th minute off a set piece situation.
WSU took a 4-0 lead into halftime. UNC put more pressure on the Cougs in the second half, but it still could not overcome the Pac-12 team.
Washington State scored another two times, including one in the final minutes of the match.
The Bears finished with just five shots and three on goal. In comparison, Wazzu attacked junior goalkeeper Kaya Lindberg – who had been one of the top goalkeepers in the nation coming into the road trip – with 27 shots. Sixteen shots came in the first half and 10 of the overall attempts were on target. Lindberg still recorded eight saves in the loss.
Roberts, senior midfielder Haley Collier and junior midfielder Morgan King recorded the Bears’ three shots on goal.
Overall, it was not Northern Colorado’s best performance, but it was hard to keep up with the dominance of the Cougars.
UNC will return home this weekend and try to close the non-conference season with a win. It will face Utah State at noon on Sunday.
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