This past offseason, the Cougars saw the departure of four midfielders, leaving sophomore Maddie Martin the only midfielder listed on the roster. Head coach Chris Citowicki has been able to rebuild the midfield with the arrival of three transfers, all of which followed Citowicki from the University of Montana Grizzlies: sophomores Emma Widmor, Lydia Robertson and Carly Whalen.
Emma Widmor
Widmor arrives in Pullman from Montana, where she spent two seasons. This past season for the Grizzlies, she appeared in 16 of 20 games, started in 14 games and missed time with an injury. Despite this, she was able to finish the season with 1,054 minutes and put in three performances where she played all 90 minutes. She also recorded 51 minutes against the Cougs.
Widmor was also able to find two assists on the year, with the first one coming against Gonzaga, while her second assists of the season came against Northern Colorado.
Expect to see Widmor be able to help the Cougs find goals next season with her ability to help teammates find the net.
Lydia Robertson
Robertson will be joining the Cougs after spending the last two seasons at Montana, where she played in all 20 games this past season, including 14 starts, totaling 1,111 minutes. Additionally, she played at least 67 minutes in three Big Sky and NCAA tournament games for the Griz, and played a season high 75 minutes against UC Davis.
Beyond that, Robertson was able to assist three goals this season, including two game-winning assists against the Cougs and Sacramento State. Her third assists of the season came against the University of Idaho in the Big Sky tournament semi-finals. She found the back of the net once scoring against Gonzaga.
Robertsons’ ability to find goal contributions will be a vital part of the Cougs offense attack next season.
Carly Whalen
Whalen, who is from Issaquah, has found her way back to Washington after two years at Montana. She will be entering her junior year.
Last season for the Grizzlies, she played in eight games, starting all of them before missing the last 12 games due to an injury. She was able to play a season high of 83 minutes against Gonzaga.
During her freshman season, she was able to contribute to the Grizzlies, finding the back of the net once against the University of North Dakota. Additionally, she was able to assist three times, all of which were in consecutive games, against North Dakota, Boise State and Northern Arizona. She was also named to the All-Big Sky academic conference and the All-Big Sky conference honorable mention.
While she missed time last season with injury, Whalen has shown her ability to provide a spark to the offensive and will be a name to watch out for.