Our soccer ladies got their season started in the right direction with a 3-1 victory over Seattle U. Eventually. The game, first notch in the schedule, was predictably sloppy at times and S.U. got the first goal as one of our Cougs failed to keep an eye on one of S.U.'s forwards during a corner kick. No problem as Morgan Weaver scored for us before half. Early in the second half Elyse Bennett beat the goalkeeper one on one and then Weaver shortly thereafter blasted an amazing shot from maybe forty yards out. The Cougs pretty much dominated the game and the final score was a fair representation of what was occurring on the field.
Weaver, Bennett and the goalie, Ella Dederick, were very good as expected. Alysha Overland, who was very promising a couple of years ago and then blew out a knee and had to sit last year after surgery, played ten to fifteen minutes and showed no ill effects which was nice. I couldn't tell if she has regained the burst of speed that she showed during the 2016 season but so far, so good.
The incoming freshmen (freshwomen? I've never sure what to call them.) looked very nice and showed surprisingly little jitters for their first real game. Keep an eye on Ebony Clark. I liked her a lot.
The Pac12 will again be a brutal gauntlet to have to run. Stanford is the reigning champion. Runner-up last year? UCLA. USC won the title a couple of years ago and has apparently reloaded. The Lady Cougs are ranked #21. Stanford is #!, UCLA #6 and USC #12. If that isn't bad enough, the coast writers or coaches- not sure which- have WSU expected to only place seventh in the conference. Unaware who, besides the aforementioned three, are the other three considered better than the Cougs. Last year was tough and the level of difficulty has reappeared.
Anyway, should be an interesting season for those of us who follow the other football too.
Weaver, Bennett and the goalie, Ella Dederick, were very good as expected. Alysha Overland, who was very promising a couple of years ago and then blew out a knee and had to sit last year after surgery, played ten to fifteen minutes and showed no ill effects which was nice. I couldn't tell if she has regained the burst of speed that she showed during the 2016 season but so far, so good.
The incoming freshmen (freshwomen? I've never sure what to call them.) looked very nice and showed surprisingly little jitters for their first real game. Keep an eye on Ebony Clark. I liked her a lot.
The Pac12 will again be a brutal gauntlet to have to run. Stanford is the reigning champion. Runner-up last year? UCLA. USC won the title a couple of years ago and has apparently reloaded. The Lady Cougs are ranked #21. Stanford is #!, UCLA #6 and USC #12. If that isn't bad enough, the coast writers or coaches- not sure which- have WSU expected to only place seventh in the conference. Unaware who, besides the aforementioned three, are the other three considered better than the Cougs. Last year was tough and the level of difficulty has reappeared.
Anyway, should be an interesting season for those of us who follow the other football too.
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