University of Washington
Washington State
UW Falls To WSU On Senior Night
November 06, 2015 | Women's Soccer
SEATTLE – UW women's soccer lost its final game of the regular season, falling 3-1 to Washington State on Senior Night at Husky Soccer Field.
“Not taking anything away from Washington State – they're a good team and have had a great season – but this loss is disgraceful for us and our program,” UW head coach Lesle Gallimore said. “We gave up soft, poor goals that gave them life and confidence, and we didn't finish our chances.”
The Huskies (12-6-2, 5-5-1 Pac-12) seized the early momentum, as freshman forward Kelcie Hedge scored her fourth goal of the year in the 11th minute to open the scoring. After dribbling the ball down the right sideline, sophomore outside back Dominique Bond-Flasza played a ball that found Hedge in the middle of the box. Hedge took a right-footed volley that beat WSU goalkeeper Dederick Ella and gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Bond-Flasza was credited with the assist, her fourth of the year.
“We played probably the best attacking soccer that I've seen in three weeks from this team,” Gallimore said. “We were flying and put a goal away early, but then we gave it away.”
Just five short minutes later, the Cougars (14-5-0, 7-4-0 Pac-12) tied the game at 1-1 in the 16th minute when UW goalkeeper Megan Kufeld's pass was intercepted, giving WSU forward Kaitlyn Johnson an open look that she calmly placed past Kufeld for her seventh goal of the season.
The Cougars took advantage of another opportunity in the 26th minute when Sofia Anker-Kofoed found Cara Wegner splitting the Husky defense. Wegner shot the ball just over the outstretched leap of Kufeld as WSU took a 2-1 lead, which would stand as the score at the end of the first half.
The Huskies battled throughout the second frame to equalize, outshooting the Cougars 11-5 in the half. UW held the majority of the possession and continually put pressure on the WSU back line, but failed to find the back of the net.
WSU all but sealed the victory in the 83rd minute when Kelsee Crenshaw scored her first goal of the season. Crenshaw corralled a ball played over the top and took a lunging shot that was just out of Kufeld's reach as the Cougars took the 3-1 advantage, the eventual final tally.
“We started with the right attitude,” UW junior captain Amanda Perez said. “We were possessing and really feeling our swing. We were playing for each other. This one is hard to swallow because I feel like we gave this game away. They capitalized on their chances and we didn't. That was the difference between them and us tonight.”
The Huskies finished with a total of 19 shots to 12 for the Cougars, and earned six corner compared to just two for WSU. Shannon Simon led the attack with six shots, while Hedge and fellow freshman Pascale Dumesnil recorded four apiece.
“You do have to finish your chances, and we were pushing to get the equalizer but it wasn't good enough,” Gallimore said. “I'm not happy about this performance in our last regular season game. Our players – they're better than that. If they're not disappointed then there's something wrong with them.”
The Huskies are now 7-12-6 all-time against WSU and haven't beaten the Cougars since 2003.
UW briefly honored its senior class – Allyson Brahs, Tori Burns, Katey Fawcett, McKenzie Karas, and Megan Kufeld – before kickoff.
The Huskies await the announcement of the 64-team NCAA tournament field on Monday, Nov. 9, with the selection broadcast beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT. The announcement will be live streamed via NCAA.com.
For more on UW women's soccer, follow the Huskies on Facebook and on Snapchat, Periscope, Twitter and Instagram at @UW_WSoccer.
