WSU women battle before bowing out in NCAA soccer semis

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Washington State kept up the pressure throughout the second half, but could not score the equalizer and lost 2-1 to North Carolina in the semifinals of the NCAA Women’s College Cup on Friday at Avaya Stadium.

WSU (16-7-1) outshot North Carolina (24-1-1) 10-8 for the game, and had seven corner kicks to the Tar Heels’ two.

Morgan Weaver of Washington State scored the game’s first goal in the seventh minute — her 15th goal of the season.

Later in the half, Alessia Russo of North Carolina chased down a ball chipped over the top of the WSU defense, won a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge and tied the game in the 24th minute.

UNC took the lead in the 37th minute on a cross to the back post from Ru Mucherera that found the head of a charging Alexis Strickland.

The top-seeded Tar Heels (24-1-1) advanced to Sunday’s championship game against Stanford, which downed UCLA 4-1 in the other semifinal.

Washington State became the first Cougars team to reach a Final Four in any sport.

North Carolina, ranked No. 2, has been to the championship game 26 times and has won a record 22 national titles. The Tar Heels are the nation’s only program to appear in all 38 NCAA Tournaments in women’s soccer.

Top-ranked Stanford has won two national championships.

Bridget Rieken, a freshman from Lake City High, started her 16th straight game at center back for WSU.

Weaver finished her WSU career with 43 goals — second most in Cougar history. Her 15 goals ranks tied for the third most in WSU single-season history. Weaver’s 98 career points rank second all-time in program history while her 35 points ranks third-most in a single season.