WESTON’S HEADER GIVES SOCCER THE WIN OVER EAGLES
All it took for the Aggie soccer squad to win was a bit of faith, hope and Charity Weston.
In the midst of intense second-half play against Eastern Washington University at the Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field on Saturday, Aggie junior midfielder Jessie Malaska popped the ball in the air, sending it inside the 20-yard box. As the ball flew through the air, only two players were in a position to do something about it: Weston and EWU goalkeeper Tiera Como.
Both jumped for the ball, relying upon their ability to get balls in the air to determine the outcome. The leap advantage went to Weston, who headed the ball over Como’s head and into the back of the net for the winning score.
“It’s nice,” Weston said of the goal. “Hopefully goals start coming now, relieving the pressure a little bit.”
The veteran captain of the team, Weston led the Aggies last year with 18 points, comprised of seven goals and four assists, tying her for fifth place in the WAC.
This season, Weston leads the team in shots, but up to Saturday’s game had yet to score. With the goal, Weston joins a three-way tie for fourth place on the USU career-scoring list.
Not only was the winning goal a victory for Weston, it also made Head Coach Heather Cairns the winningest head coach in Aggie soccer history for total victories.
“It feels good because it’s a win,” Cairns said about setting the record. “Every time you win it’s good, so I’d like to put my stamp on the program in other ways like conference championships. But it is nice. But we got bigger fish to fry – bigger goals for this season.”
Preparing for Saturday’s game, Cairns said she emphasized the importance of implementing short and long passes in the attack. The preparation paid off as the Aggies maintained possession of the ball the majority of the game.
The Eagles showed a fast, strong attack at the beginning of the game, with much of the action centered near the Aggie goal, including a headshot that sophomore goalkeeper Ali Griffin easily prevented. After the first 10 minutes, the game was controlled by the Aggies’ midfielders and forwards.
“We started off a little slow and built the energy up,” Cairns said. “But certainly the second half, when it started to come down to crunch time, we brought it. But it is a little bit of a concern ’cause you don’t want slow starts because that can get you in a hole you can’t get out of.”
Midfielders Shannon Ross and Weston and freshman forward Erin Salmon, led the Aggie shooting frenzy that occupied the end of the first half and the whole of the second half. Salmon, who leads the team in scoring with two goals last week against Southern Utah University, led the team with four shots, including one on goal. She is a recent addition to the team that is adding speed and strength in the attack, Cairns said.
“She’s playing with more and more confidence,” Cairns said of Salmon. “She’s really starting to play well regularly, which is what we need going into conference. We need to have our forwards clicking on all cylinders.”
Utilizing short, tight passes in the attack, the Aggies outshot the Eagles 22-2. Not only were the Eagles outshot, but the fast Aggie offense and quick footwork prevented the Eagles from possessing the ball long enough to do any damage.
“I think our defense did a very good job,” Weston said, “and our midfield did a good job controlling the ball and playing together. The longer we play defense is going to hurt us.”
The win over EWU is the first of three home games for the Aggies before conference play begins. The next match is against San Francisco, a team that “killed Northridge,” which USU lost against 1-2.
“We always look at it one game at a time,” Cairns said. “Certainly to get this under our belts helps and now we look forward to San Francisco.”