Eileen Maes picked up her fourth goal of the season and clinched a double overtime victory for the Cougars against Gonzaga Thursday.
On Thursday WSU traveled to Spokane for their third consecutive match on the road in a longtime rivalry match. The Cougars were coming into the match leading the all time series 18-0-1 and with a 4-2-1 record for the season.
In the 28th minute, the Bulldogs were able to find the back of the net to take an early lead and held it going into the half.
The Cougars began to pick up their games in the 52nd minute. Junior Brandi Vega put the ball through the defense on the right hand side to freshman midfielder Jocelyn Jeffers. Jeffers fired a shot off from about 20 yards out and recorded her first goal of her career as a Cougar.
The match remained constant and both teams battled into overtime. With 52 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Eileen Maes took the game into her hands and was able to knee the ball over Gonzaga’s goalkeeper Susan Brown after a scramble in front of the net to seal the 2-1 victory.
WSU dominated the Bulldogs in stats with a 27-13 advantage in shots as well as earning 12 corner kicks. The 27 shots marked a season high for the Cougars. Jeffers said that losing wasn’t an option for them this weekend and they knew what they needed to do in the second half in order to be successful.
"We created opportunities and we had a tough day in front of the goal," Head Coach Matt Potter said. "But at the end of the day the result is we found a way to win and that is what matters."
The win improved the Cougars to 5-2-1 and they remain undefeated against Gonzaga.
“Something I’ve applauded these guys for is their character and their perseverance,” Potter said. “They’re young, they’re talented and they lack fear and those are great qualities to have.”
Potter said he wants the team to play smart enough to not put themselves in holes where they need to climb out of and punish teams when they have a chance to.
Results for Sunday's WSU vs UI game were not available at time of publication.
Next week the Cougars will travel to Santa Clara concluding their fifth and sixth consecutive matches on the road.
