Washington State Soccer: Cougars Tie #13 Georgia 1-1

The 13th ranked Georgia Bulldogs came to Pullman to take on Washington State, and the Cougars rose to the occasion, pulling even with one of the most dangerous teams in the country in a 1-1 tie. Washington State is still looking for their first win of the season, and now sits at 0-1-2 on the year.

Washington State went on the aggressive early. Audrey Shackleford got a shot on goal in the third minute and Isabelle Wright added another shot just a minute later. Georgia got a few shots off after that, but in the twelfth minute Keara Fitzgerald took a free kick that sent the ball right to the front of the Georgia goal from half field. Georgia goal keeper Hannah Folliard mishandled the deflection, and Ava Ghoreishi swooped in to put it in the bottom right corner for a 1-0 Cougar lead.

The Washington State defense proved a tough test for the Bulldogs, as Georgia didn't get many chances at an equalizer in the first half. The team came out with more fire in the second, but couldn't get a shot off.

Georgia finally found their equalizer in the 69th minute. Keara Fitzgerald was drawn out of the Washington State goal to try to corral the ball after a deflection, but couldn't take control of it. Georgia's Sage Glover managed to grab possession, and fed the ball to Mya Townes for an easy score.

A flurry of activity in the final minutes of the game couldn't produce a score for either team, as Washington State hung on for the 1-1 tie. Keara Fitzgerald picked up four saves against a very dangerous Georgia offense, and the Washington State offense made the most of their chances.

"We thought we had a pretty aggressive game plan here for Georgia, head coach Todd Shulenberger said postgame. What a great team they are. I mean, they beat Carolina this year. They're rolling. So, we saw some things we'd like to try and the girls to their perfection, did a pretty good job with it. I mean, obviously, they had more of the ball at times. We're not stupid to realize that, but that was the game plan. We knew that was going to happen. Ava missed another opportunity on a great goal she had. could have been two there. And we just frustrated them. We work hard. This group is gritty. They're hardworking. They're a bunch of young girls that nobody knows about right now, but keep keep eye on these girls because they're doing a great job."

WSU begin a road trip through California next week with a September 4 matchup at Cal, scheduled for 3 p.m. PT on ACC Network Extra.

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