Soccer loses two games tought PAC-10 competion
The women’s soccer team tarnished their spotless record with losses to two Pac-10 teams this weekend in the University of Utah Fall Classic in Salt Lake City.
The Aggies went into the Classic with a record of 2-0, claiming the best start by the team since 1998.
Pac-10 powerhouse, University of Arizona, overwhelmed the Aggies on Friday with a 3-0 win. The Wildcats came out with a strong offensive attack and scored at 1:47 into the match. Forward London King drilled the ball past USU goalie Ali Griffin and into the net off an assist from Kaity Heath. Arizona continued their pressure on the Aggies and scored from the left wing in the 16th minute of play, putting USU at a 2-0 deficit.
“I think the thing that took us a while to get adjusted to was they were a really good team,” Head Coach Heather Cairns said. “They came out and scored in the first two minutes on us. They took it to us at a pace we haven’t seen this year.”
Arizona scored nine minutes later when a shot from King bounced off the crossbar and behind the goal line, giving King her second goal of the day.
USU struggled to get in scoring position and ended the first half with only one shot on goal by junior midfielder Dana Peart. At the end of the first half, the Aggies not only trailed 3-0, but were out-shot 12-1.
“They were just a really sophisticated team,” Cairns said. “The way they attacked us was a way we haven’t seen this year. Defensively, they didn’t give us a lot of time or space to play.”
The Aggie defensive line tightened in the second half and prevented the Wildcats from scoring again. Arizona was held to only four shots in the second half. The Aggie offensive attack struggled to get near the goal, only producing one shot on goal that was blocked by Arizona goalkeeper Chelsea McIntyre.
Sunday morning the Aggies faced the Washington State Cougars, another Pac-10 team. Like the Arizona match, USU was hit with a hard offensive attack in the early minutes of the game. In the first 40 seconds, Aggie goalkeeper Griffin, made a diving save to prevent a kick by Cougar forward Brooke Bemis.
The Cougars posted the winning score in the seventh minute of play when midfielder Sasha Baines drilled a high shot over Griffin. The Aggies countered with two attacks led by junior midfielder Andra Hansen, but couldn’t produce a goal.
“Washington State was a different style than Arizona,” Cairns said. “They were bigger players. Whenever you match up against bigger players you have to figure out a way to get balls in the air. It was a more direct style of play.”
The first half was dominated by fruitless scoring opportunities by both teams. At the half, the Aggies trailed the Cougars 1-0.
“I think losing to Arizona gave us a little bit of fire,” Cairns said. “We took it to Washington State the second half. We are a really phenomenally hard-working team. We just couldn’t pop one in. We had them on the ropes but we couldn’t break them.”
The second half was dominated by USU attacks. In the 57 minute, senior forward Charity Weston collided with WSU goalie Brynn Bemis, knocking the ball into the net. The score was discarded by the official and Weston received a yellow card after injuring Bemis.
Defender Lindsey Smart drilled a ball into the box in the 84th minute, forcing backup Cougar goalkeeper Amber Whittmers to dive to save the ball. The Aggies had two more scoring opportunities in the final moments of the game, but couldn’t get a shot to touch the net. The final score was 1-0 as USU dropped their second game in two days to a Pac-10 team.
“At the end of the match, I saw such a look of disappointment on the faces of the girls,” Cairns said. “They truly thought that they could win.”
The Aggies face Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge this weekend in the City by the Bay Classic in San Francisco.
“This is just the beginning of our challenge,” Cairns said. “We’ve got another weekend of really challenging games on the road. It’s important that we keep getting better at every game.”