The Washington State women’s soccer program found a blossoming star in Megan Santa Cruz. An attacking midfielder who commands the center of the pitch, Santa Cruz sits at the forefront of the future of the Cougars’ program.
Santa Cruz gravitated to soccer at a young age, playing recreationally for as long as she can remember. As her love for the game grew, she began taking it more seriously and joined her first club team at just seven years old. This also marked the moment when Santa Cruz fell in love with competitive soccer.
“When I started playing club, I started taking it more seriously,” Santa Cruz said. “I began to love soccer more and more.”
Santa Cruz continued to play club soccer and, soon enough, played for her varsity high school team, too. In her four years at Notre Dame High School, she led her team in goals. She also led the way for two of the Knights’ best seasons during her junior and senior years, leading them to two 15-win seasons and second place finishes in their league.
As the Los Angeles native was building her name as one of the best midfielders in the country, schools started to take notice, including Washington State. Santa Cruz received a call before her junior year; on the first day colleges could contact recruits.
“WSU first contacted me the day they could start contacting recruits, which was June 15 the summer after my sophomore year. One of the coaches contacted me and I set up an official visit,” Santa Cruz explained. It was after he first visit to Pullman that Santa Cruz fell in love with the idea of being a Coug.
“I had gone to a couple other Pac-12 schools for visits, but when I came on my visit here it just felt like the right environment. I felt comfortable with the coaches, and I felt that would help take my game to the next level.”
With the L.A. native finding a new home in the Palouse, it became time for the talented freshman to take her game to the next level.
Santa Cruz got the opening day start in the midfield in Washington State’s win over Eastern Washington. She continued to start in the midfield and helped lead the Cougs to an undefeated 5-0 start to the season. During the fifth win, Santa Cruz earned one the highlight moments of her young career.
Just four minutes into the game, Santa Cruz secured her first career goal as a Coug.
“It was just an unreal feeling, once I…
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