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Aggie soccer looks to remain No.1 on the road

After a 2-0 weekend at home, the Utah State women’s soccer team is heading to the southwest for a pair of matches. The Aggies (5-1-0) sit atop the Mountain West conference, two points ahead of the UNLV Rebels.

Over the weekend, senior forward Jessica Brooksby scored three times and notched two assists, earning her the conference’s Offensive Player of the Week honors. Brooksby scored once and had both of her assists in a 4-0 victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs. She scored twice against the San Jose State Spartans on Sunday in a 2-1 win.

Brooksby is the second Aggie to win the honor after junior forward Wesley Hamblin won it in the fourth week of the season. This is Brooksby’s second time earning the award; her first was last season. She is tied for first in goals scored and is first in total assists, recording eight in both goals and assists.

The weekend opens with a match against New Mexico (2-4-0) in Albuquerque on Friday. The Lobos are coming off of a loss by the hands of second place UNLV by a score of 2-1. Junior goalkeeper Tayler Hammack is third in the league with 55, three ahead of USU’s sophomore Grace McGuire. The Aggies have a record of 1-1-2 in their last four matches against UNM.

On Sunday, the Aggies head down to sunny Southern California to take on the Aztecs of San Diego State. The Aztecs have a tough weekend ahead of them as they host the third place Boise State before welcoming the first place Aggies to close out the two-game series. Like New Mexico, SDSU’s goalkeeper Gabby English has an edge in total saves (61). Utah State’s McGuire, however, is tied for first in shutouts (5).

Including pre-conference games, the Aggies are 3-3-0 away from home and 1-1-0 in conference play. Their sole loss was a 1-0 match at Colorado College.

Both games will be streamed online on the Mountain West Network. Friday’s game is at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s begins at 1 p.m.

After the series, the Aggies will have a one-game homestand against Nevada Oct. 21. — the last home game of the season. Utah State then takes to the road to play second-place UNLV and third-place Boise State.