USU drops out in first round

The Utah State women’s soccer team lost 2-1 to Fresno State in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at the Boas Soccer Complex in Boise, Idaho.

The Ags controlled the ball for most of the game but couldn’t find the shots and scoring chances they needed to tie the game in the final 15 minutes.

“The first half, we had 90 percent of the possession,” Utah State Head Coach Heather Cairns said. “I’m glad that we weren’t defending the whole time, but possession doesn’t win games, attacking wins games.”

The Ags came out of half time in attack mode and scored to tie the game at one in the 60th minute. Senior Rachelle Dixon served a ball into the box that Charity Weston let go by. Dana Peart trapped it, then turned and fired a shot past Fresno State’s goalkeeper Angie Larsen. The goal was Peart’s first since September and was just the second goal allowed in the last six games by Larsen. It was also a turning point for the Ags.

“I really, really wanted a goal,” Peart said. “It was very satisfying and we really needed it and we were attacking at that point.”

Not only did it tie the game, but after the goal, the Ags weren’t attacking as much as they had been before the goal, Cairns said.

“After we scored, we stopped attacking and that’s what was really disappointing,” Cairns said.

Up to that time, the Ags had been pushing the ball up the sidelines and putting crosses into the middle to get scoring chances. After the goal, Utah State didn’t push as much on the outside and the Bulldog’s defense shut down the middle of the field for the Aggie attack. The Aggies didn’t get a corner kick in the second half because they didn’t push things to the outside to get corners and crosses to set up the offense, Cairns said.

“We were playing wide to get crosses and corners because they are great opportunities,” Cairns said. “But we only did that for 20 minutes.”

Fifteen minutes after Peart’s goal, the Bulldogs scored what would be the game-winning goal as Kortney Lewis had an open shot that found the corner of the net and served to deflate the Ags’ attack even more.

“She was within 12 yards of the goal, facing the goal and you give her a free shot,” Cairns said. “That’s everybody’s responsibility.”

The team gave all it had, but the Ags didn’t play the type of game they needed to come out with a win, Cairns said.

“We wanted to go down on our terms,” she said. “They gave all they had, but sometimes we have to play smarter soccer and I don’t think we did that as well as we should have today.”

Fresno State’s first goal was scored off a corner kick when Andrea Alires curved in a wind-aided shot into the far corner of the net to put the Bulldog’s up 1-0 in the 36th minute.

Fresno State was held to two shots on goal in the game but both went in.

Most of Fresno’s best scoring chances came off corner kicks, including their goal in the first half.

Fresno State advances to play number one seed Hawai’i in the semifinals of the WAC tournament.

-krn@cc.usu.edu