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Aggies down Nevada, advance to 2nd round of MWC tourney

Jeff Dahdah, assistant sports editor

Utah State Women’s soccer team picked up its first ever Mountain West conference tournament win on Monday against Nevada. The Aggies won by a score of 2-0, the same score that the WolfPack defeated the Aggies by on September 27.

The Aggies move on to play host team New Mexico Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Utah State was in control of the game for the majority of it. The Aggies put up 18 shots, with eight on target, while the WolfPack only had two shots on goal, and they didn’t have one on target until the 80th minute of the game.

“I thought we played a solid game,” said Utah State head coach Heather Cairns. “We wanted more passes and more scoring opportunities going in to the game and that’s what we did.”

In the 38th minute, junior forward Ambryn McCalson scored her first goal of the season on a set piece. She took the shot from two yards outside the box, curved it around the wall of defenders, and beat the goalkeeper.

“She practices that exact hit once a week,” Coach Cairns said. “And boy she hit that, it was an awesome shot. She had been knocking on the door all season so it was good for her to get a goal there.”

The goal was a culmination of an unrelenting Aggie attack in the first half. They took nine shots in the half before they finally got one in the net.

“I think we handled the frustration well,” Coach Cairns said. “Our team didn’t let it get to their head like it can when you have all the possession and don’t score.”

The next goal came in the 88th minute by senior Mari Miyashiro. She fired a shot from 16 yards out that flew past the goalkeeper.

The score may have been more lopsided than it already was however. In a three-minute span during the second half Kylie Dibb beat multiple defenders to have a one-on-one with the keeper before she got sandwiched between the goalkeeper and a following defender.

That was backed up by a rocket shot by senior and first-team all-Mountain West Jennifer Flynn that was tapped away by the outstretched goalkeeper.

For Utah State’s freshman goalkeeper Natalie Stoven it was her fifth shutout in the last seven games. The Aggie defense played very well, limiting opponent’s opportunities.

USU will have little time to relax with less than 24 hours until its next match.

“It’s tough to go back to back,” Coach Cairns said. “We will need ice baths, and to heat what needs to be heated, and proper nutrition. However we can be happy for tonight about our first Mountain West tournament win.”

The Aggies take on New Mexico in the next round. The Lobos are the host team for the tournament and the Aggies tied them 0-0 in their first meeting on October 25th.

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