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For much of the game, WSU controlled the pace of play and kept the ball in WC’s half of the field, but were unable to find the back of the net. Head Coach Tim Crompton said he was pleased with the team’s first performance of the year.
“It was pretty true to form,” Crompton said. “They’re a very difficult team to score on. We need to be able to put balls in the net, but we had the ball a lot. We certainly had the run of play . . . we just need to get a little bit better in the final third of the field”
Crompton said during the spring, the main focus is figuring out how players will fit into the system.
“The biggest thing about spring games,” Crompton said, “is just to see where we are without the players who graduated and have finished their eligibility.”
In the first half, neither team was able to consistently attack the goal, and both teams showed some rust.
The two best scoring chances of the first half came late. First, Tianna Woodhead brought the ball down the right side of the pitch and crossed it into the box, but the following shot sailed over the bar.
A few minutes before the break, Ari Wood fired a shot headed to the top left corner, but the Griffins’ goalkeeper made the save to send the teams into the half tied.
The second half was much of the same. The Wildcats controlled the tempo but couldn’t break through to score.
The best chance of the second half came on a breakaway from WSU’s Keirsten Raught. Raught broke through and looked as if she’d only have the goalie to beat, but was taken down on a well-timed WC tackle.
WSU’s Riley Hanson said she felt like the Wildcats played well enough to win but came up short.
“We should have won,” Hanson said. “Like our coach said, we do good things, but we don’t have the last play. We’re missing that last touch.”
Hanson said she felt the team played well considering it was the first game of the year.
“We looked good for not playing a whole season,” Hanson said. “We’ve been done since November, so I think we looked good.”
