Ag soccer stays perfect at home
For the Utah State soccer team, there’s no place like home.
Away from Bell Field the Ags have posted a dismal 1-7-1 record this season, but after beating Long Beach and UC Irvine over the weekend, they’re a perfect 5-0 in Logan.
On Friday it took an overtime – all of an overtime. But, the literal last-second heroics of Charlsie Harris sealed the victory for USU as Harris headed in a ball off the foot of midfielder Michelle Haws with only one second left on the clock to put the Ags up 2-1.
“I have to get a touch on this,'” Harris said. “That’s all I thought.”
Harris, who head coach Heather Cairns said struggled at times during the game, said she was glad to be in the right spot at the right time.
“Luckily I was just in there for that one,” Harris said.
“Honestly, I thought she struggled a little bit,” Cairns said of Harris. “But that’s the beauty of Chuck. She is a heck of a competitor … she’s capable of that big play.”
Early in the second half, Long Beach’s Kristin Travis redirected a cross from the right side to score the game’s first goal past Aggie goalkeeper Megan Mills.
“I got nervous,” Haws said. “You never know how many opportunities you’re going to have after that.”
But the Aggies didn’t let down.
“The whole time I was thinking we were going to win this game,” defender Melissa Baggaley said. “Even when they scored, our whole team had heart and we knew we were going to come back.”
With time winding down, midfielder Charity Weston stood on the sideline looking to get back in the game after a brief rest. She missed her first opportunity to get in when the sideline official refused to substitute her because her shirt was not tucked in.
She finally got her opportunity and didn’t waste any time. Pushing the ball up the middle, Weston found freshman Dana Peart streaking down the left side. Peart right crossed to the far pole and Haws headed in the game-tying goal.
“Charity was phenomenal,” Cairns said. “Michelle had a break-out game … We never stopped attacking. We definitely had it today.”
“I would have been disappointed if we had tied,” she said. “But our team wasn’t thinking tie.”
The win marked the first time this season Utah State has won in overtime, as well as the team’s first come-from-behind victory.
In Sunday’s game the Ags didn’t need a late push to win, beating Irvine soundly, 3-1.
Midway through the first half, Peart, who notched her first career assist Friday, scored her first career goal.
“If coach tells me to go do something, I’ll go out there and try my hardest,” Peart said.
In the second half, a flip-throw in by Peart started the Aggies second goal as Chanel Blaquiere headed in a ball to put the Ags up 2-0.
“The ball was just up in the air and it seemed like no one was going for it, especially [the goalie],” Blaquiere said. “I could see that she was really hesitant and that’s a key for a forward.”
After Nicole Gooch scored the team’s third goal, the Anteaters started to rally.
It only took Irvine 13 seconds to push the ball down the field and find the back of the net.
“There were some weak-side runners who were unmarked,” Cairns said. “They had us confused on that one, but we just kind of weathered the storm.”
Irvine continued its offensive attack and out-shot the Aggies 9-7 in the second half, but Utah State managed to keep the Anteaters to one goal. Senior goalkeeper Mills recorded 14 saves over the weekend, while allowing two goals.
“They didn’t have many good looks,” Cairns said. “We did a good job defensively.”
USU now heads back on the road to take on Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside next weekend. Both are games Cairns said the team needs to win.
“We’ve got to get some points,” she said. “We could make our lives a lot easier, or we could let it come down to the last weekend. We’ve got to get some points.
“No game from now on out is going to be easy. We’re going to have to fight tooth and nail.”
After coming up short of qualifying for the Big West Conference tournament last season, Haws said the team is looking for redemption.
“We can do it this year,” she said. “Last year was a let down. It was right there in front of us.”
“We’re peaking at the right time,” Harris said. “Our goal is to make the big west tournament.”
Utah State improved to 6-7-1 with the win.
-acf@cc.usu.edu