Soccer begins WAC play with win
After losing 2-1 to Utah Valley State College at home on Oct. 6, the Aggie soccer squad celebrated their first WAC victory with a 2-1 win over Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La.
Learning a lesson from the loss on Friday, the Aggies came out with the strongest first-half scoring action this season. The first goal by senior forward Charity Weston came as she scurried around the Lady Techster defense and drilled in a shot in the 29th minute of play for her third goal this season.
“Charity did a really good job today with playing with a bullseye on her back,” Head Coach Heather Cairns said. “It wasn’t a very easy game to play. They were a very physical team. Anytime you can win on the road and get three points in the conference standings, you did some good stuff.”
Weston’s score marks her third goal in the last four games. Though silent in scoring for the first half of the season, Weston has become a major strength for the team, Cairns said.
On Weston’s recent high scoring, Cairns said, “I think once you score one, it gets easier to score more because your confidence gets up. It’s the right team of the season to peak and put points on the board. This is the time to get it done.”
Weston contributed to another score in the 38th minute as she fed the ball from the right wing to sophomore forward Candice Clark, who nailed a hard shot to give the Aggies the edge over Louisiana Tech.
“Candice hit the ball hard,” Cairns said. “She rocked the shot. The goalkeeper sort of got her hand on it but that ball was going in.”
The two first-half goals for USU mark the most scores in the first half for the team. With the exception of the lone point against UVSC, the Aggies have scored all their points in the second half.
Not only did the Aggies out score the Lady Techsters, they also out shot them 17-12, including eight shots on goal. Louisiana Tech only had two shots on goal for the game.
With the win, the Aggies are 1-0 in WAC play and 6-7 overall. The team returns to the Chuck and Gloria Soccer Field on Friday, Oct. 13, to face WAC foe San Jose State.
USU vs. UVSC
Winning the first two games of the three-game homestand, the Aggies failed to deliver as UVSC snagged a 2-1 victory.
The Wolverines started the game with a strong attack, scoring in the third minute of play as Courtney Robbins found an open space and nailed a left-footed shot from outside the 18-yard box past sophomore goalkeeper Ali Griffin.
Undeterred, the Aggies answered with a score in the 11th minute. Freshman defender Lindsey Smart popped a long pass to freshman forward Erin Salmon, who headed the ball into the net to tie the game.
Even though the Aggies scored their first first-half goal of the season, the Wolverines prevented USU from accomplishing much else. The scoring on both sides was equal, but the faster Wolverines made a couple close shots that sent Griffin sprawling to make the saves.
“We were flat in the first half,” Cairns said. “This time it cost us. We needed to make personnel changes because it wasn’t getting done in the first half.”
Switching things up, Cairns took out Salmon and senior forward Sierra Smith in the second half. The line-up change was in answer to Wolverine play that was a clone of the Aggie team. Brent Anderson, head coach of the UVSC squad, was an assistant coach to Cairns last year, which gave him a competitive edge as he knew the Aggie style of play and the players.
Even with the change in line-up, the Aggies still couldn’t deliver as the Wolverines out-shot and out-maneuvered them. In the 65th minute of play, the Wolverines scored again off a left post shot from Robbins, who was wide open for a clear shot. The Aggies couldn’t respond and the Wolverines took the game 2-1.
“We just weren’t very good today,” Cairns said. “They weren’t making it any easier on us. It’s a hard loss because it’s an instate loss. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to move on.”
-sethhawkins@cc.usu.edu