USU beats UC Davis in battle of the Aggies
In a battle of the Aggies, Utah State’s Nicole Gooch recorded the team’s first hat trick in two years to propel the USU soccer team to a 5-0 victory over the Aggies of UC Davis Thursday.
Utah State is now a perfect 3-0 when playing at home and a struggling 0-5 on the road.
“I wish we could save some of those goals for the road,” head coach Heather Cairns said. “We have that edge when we play at home and it’s nice when it clicks.”
In the 26th minute of the match USU’s Lacy Kennington connected with Gooch on the right cross to put the Ags up 1-0. Later, in the 43rd minute, Kennington and Gooch hooked up again as Gooch’s second goal on the afternoon put USU up 2-0 at the half.
“It was a good way to end the half,” Gooch said. “We ended on top instead of them thinking they were still in the game.
“And then in the second we just came out and made sure the knew they weren’t in the game anymore.”
A tough Utah State defense, led by seniors Melissa Baggaley and Megan Mills, held the UC Davis offensive scoreless. Mills and freshman goalkeeper Kelli Allred combined for the one-save shutout.
“At half time we said we wanted to win both halves. We just came out like it was a whole new game.”
“It was a total team effort,” Cairns said. “Usually when we put it together, it is. To keep that shutout is fantastic.”
Gooch completed the hat trick on a diagonal cross from teammate Charlsie Harris in the 48th minute of play. Her three goals were the most by a Utah State player since former Aggie Brigid Turner notched three goals in the 2002 season finale against Idaho.
In scoring her third goal, Gooch said she landed awkwardly and bruised her tailbone.
“I just landed a little weird,” Gooch said. “I tweaked the back a little, bruised the tailbone.”
“It’s going to be OK,” Cairns said. “She’s a little sore, but she’ll be fine – nothing crushing.”
Aside from assisting Gooch on her third goal, Harris recorded two scores of her own: one in the 56th minute and one in the 59th.
” I was just so happy,” Harris said. “We need goals. On the road we’re struggling. It was a good way to get some confidence back in us.”
“We’re finally clicking in the attack,” Cairns said. “Your attack is the hardest part of your game to get. It has to do with the runs that you’re making, the type of support and, in addition to that, it has to do with how you’re playing the ball. It’s all starting to come together.”
The Aggies have dominated opponents at Bell Field outscoring them 13-0. But on the road the Ags have faltered, getting outscored by opponents 7-1.
“It’s such a back and forth game, you can’t quite attribute it to one thing,” Cairns said. “It’s that general energy. It’s that general attitude.”
Cairns also said she thought Utah State performed better on a larger field. Soccer regulations stipulate a maximum and a minimum size for a field, but leave the actual size to the program’s discretion.
“I think we play better on a big field, rather than a small field,” Cairns said. “But that’s not an excuse. You have to figure how to play with that.”
The Ags travel to Salt Lake City Sunday to take on in-state rivals Utah, but Cairns and her players said they were able to take something positive from their performance against UC Davis Thursday.
“We had to make some adjustments because of their formation,” Cairns said. “Luckily, it’s the same formation Utah plays. So it was a good test for that.”
“We needed a confidence booster before we got into that game,” Harris said. “It’s going to be a lot tougher game, but I think that if we play like we did today we’ll be able to pull it out.”
-acf@cc.usu.edu