Aggies defeat Aztecs to secure first ever Pac-12 championship

The Utah State Aggies took home the victory against San Diego State Thursday night, winning their first-ever Pac-12 regular season conference championship as well. The championship is the Aggies’ fourth conference championship in as many years. The victory also came on senior night, as the Aggies celebrated the five seniors on the roster.

The Aggies struggled in the opening half of the game, struggling to gain any momentum throughout the half. San Diego State was able to keep the ball on the Aggie side of the field and put pressure on the Aggies’ defense.

In the opportunities the Aggies did have to move the ball down to the Aztecs’ side of the field, the team was unable to get many quality possessions. USU had few opportunities to let a play develop, scrambling to get a shot on goal on multiple occasions.

While the Aztecs largely controlled the pace of the first half, the Aggies’ defense was able to keep the Aztecs from scoring. In fact, despite SDSU controlling much of the half, the Aggie defense limited the Aztecs to only two shots on goal, both of which were saved by Ivy Nystrom, including a diving grab to save a goal.

“At halftime, I thought our energy was less than ideal; we knew what we needed to do,” head coach Manny Martins said. “It wasn’t a tactical adjustment; it was an adjustment in mindset and attitude.”

In the second half, the Aggies came out with a much more aggressive game plan. The Aggies attempted to set the tone early as they were able to find the back of the net in the opening moments of the half, but the goal was ultimately taken off the board for an offside penalty. 

USU controlled the pace of the half from the outset, applying pressure throughout the entire half. The Aggies took twelve shots in the half, compared to only three by the Aztecs.

Senior forward Kate Christian finally put the Aggies on the board in the 67th minute of the game, with a highlight goal to take the lead. After sending her defender stumbling, Christian placed the ball in the top corner of the net to give the Aggies the lead.

“Once we got that goal, I was like, okay, we just got to get through these last 20 minutes, and we can clinch it,” Christian said. “It was an awesome feeling. I mean, I’m so proud of my team; they played me so many great balls.”

The Aggies added an insurance goal in the 81st minute when Kei Yoneda tapped in a pass from Summer Sefonia, extending the Aggie lead to two.

The Aggie defense continued to play in its dominant form, shutting down any offensive momentum the Aztecs developed as the clock wound down. 

“Our biggest change was our defense. It was just kind of a domino effect. We were going one by one instead of a collective; I feel like once we fixed that, the whole game changed,” Christian said. “We were reading passes, picking passes, and then San Diego didn’t really have a lot of room to breathe when we defended the way we did.” 

With the win, the Aggies won the Pac-12 regular season championship, which is the first Pac-12 championship in USU history. As well, the Aggies secured the number one seed for the Pac-12 championship tournament, which will be held in Logan and begin Wednesday, Nov. 11.