Utah State soccer struggles in the attack; goes 1-1 to open season
The Utah State women’s soccer team has the players to produce a solid offense, but had trouble doing so in its first road trip of the year.
The Aggies scored two late goals Friday as they defeated Southern Utah 2-0 on the road in the season opener, and then fell 2-0 at UNLV on Sunday.
“We just kept fighting and fighting and pushing to try to get a goal and get that win [against SUU],” said Aggie Head Coach Heather Cairns. “We had to battle to get the win. We fought hard the whole match and it all paid off right at the end. The [UNLV game] was a lot like the SUU game in that we started off slow. We definitely saw some things that need to be corrected in practice this week.”
USU heads to Ogden to take on the Wildcats on Thursday at 5 p.m. before returning to Logan for its first home game Sunday against Idaho State at 1 p.m.
Although the schedule and most of the players remain the same for the Aggies, one thing is different – Cairns.
The former Creighton University assistant coach took the job at Utah State in March after Jen Kennedy Croft stepped down from her position to spend more time with her family.
Soccer is soccer, though, and the Aggies are confident they will build on their 8-9-3 record from last year.
“It’s going to be different, of course, because every coach has their own style,” said keeper Megan Mills. “Different coaches choose their own formations and pace of play.”
The Aggies also added Caroline Putz, who led the University of Washington to three NCAA appearances, and former USU standout Megan Tanner.
Cairns said Putz and Tanner are a nice combination for the coaching staff because one is offensive-minded and the other is defensive-minded, respectively.
Tanner is also a nice asset to the team because of her experience of actually playing with the team.
“She is definitely a presence,” Mills said. “Her leadership is awesome – it was on the field, as well as it is off.”
The former four-year starter said she enjoys seeing how the other side of soccer works, and already sees the difference between playing and coaching.
Tanner has one semester remaining before she receives her math education degree.
“I just hope the team looks at me with some respect,” she said. “[I hope] they know that I’m just trying to do this and learn and do things in their best interest and help them get better.”
The Aggies finished ninth out of 10 teams last year in the Big West Conference. Their goal this season is to end up in the top four to make it to the BW tournament and eventually have a shot at the NCAA tournament.
Although Cairns said she had no input on the schedule for this season, she is optimistic that the Aggies will have a good year. She did work on the 2004 and 2005 schedules, though.
One strength Cairns has for the upcoming seasons is her upbeat attitude about Utah State which will help her recruit outside the state in years to come.
“I loved the area [when I visited] and I thought the school had a lot to offer,” she said. “It’s a good place to sell to potential student athletes. It has a lot of positives to it.”
And so does the program.
USU returns seven starters from last season and the only big injury is that of Jennifer McCann who was injured last season.
“Right now, we look really good besides a few minor nagging injuries,” Mills said.
So far this season, the Aggies haven’t dealt with any other injuries.
The win against Southern Utah marked the first time since 1998 that USU won a season opener. Amber Tracy scored in the 79th minutes off a pass from Lacy Gustaveson and then Kami Kelley scored with just over a minute left to put the Aggies up for good.
Ally Clegg took six of the Aggies’ 18 shots, including five on goal, against UNLV.
Mills posted four saves against the Thunderbirds and five against the Rebels.
-juag@cc.usu.edu