Women’s soccer is single-mindedly focused
The weekend might not have gone as planned for the Utah State women’s soccer team, but it could have been worse.
The Aggies fell 3-0 to Long Beach Friday, but ended in a tie 0-0 with UC Irvine in double overtime Sunday.
USU Head Coach Heather Cairns said she thought her team “played pretty poorly” against the 49ers, but recovered against the Anteaters.
“We played much better,” she said. “The tie is a pretty fair score. Both teams were dominating at times. It was a good back-and-forth battle.”
Because of the deadlocked score, both teams will receive a point in the Big West Conference standings, something Cairns is happy about.
Utah State (3-1-1 in BWC action, 9-5-1 overall) is currently ranked third in the league standings, behind Long Beach State (4-2-0, 8-7) and Cal Poly (3-0-2, 12-1-2). LBSU and CP have 12 and 11 points, respectively, while USU has 10.
The difference between third place and fifth is a mere one point.
To qualify for the Big West Conference Tournament a team must finish in the top four. The Aggies have two home matches remaining. Cal State Fullerton comes to town Friday and UC Riverside Sunday. The Aggies then go on the road to close out the season at Cal Poly Oct. 31 and then to UC Santa Barbara Nov. 2.
Despite the recent success of the team, Cairns is hesitant to celebrate too early.
“I guess I’m a cautious optimist when it comes to stuff like that,” she said. “We just want to be in the top four. I really think this team will be disappointed if we don’t make the Big West Conference Tournament. That will probably be the biggest thing with determining the success of our season is if we can make it to the tournament.”
The tournament is Nov. 7 through 9 at Cal State Fullerton.
Going into the season, Utah State was picked to finish toward the bottom of the conference because of the loss of leading-scorer Brigid Turner. Last year, the Aggies finished league play in ninth place.
Under Cairns, though, USU has already recorded its best overall record. Four Aggies (Ally Clegg, Nicole Fuez, Amber Tracy and Charlsie Harris) have been named university Athlete of the Week and goalie Megan Mills is nationally ranked No. 15 with a goals-against average of .573.
“All of the accolades have been fantastic, but we are trying not to let them distract us from our main goal,” Cairns said. “I think we are single-mindedly focused. We think [our goal] is an achievable one. Everything else is great and we truly appreciate it, but we just have to stay focused.”
Cairns said she is not ungrateful for the recognition that her team has been receiving, but she doesn’t want to let it go to the players’ heads.
The first-year USU coach said she is especially appreciative to the fans this season. About 250 people have been turning out for the home games at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field.
“It has helped us along the way,” she said. “It has given us a boost.”
-juag@cc.usu.edu