Aggies open WAC action at Bell Field
Following nearly two months of non-conference play, in which the USU women’s soccer team fared 5-7-1, the Aggies have only one goal in sight: the Western Athletic Conference championship.
Standing in their way are seven games that will largely determine whether the Aggies make an appearance in the NCAA tournament, said USU head coach Heather Cairns.
“It’s an exciting time,” Cairns said. “Every team in the WAC is 0-0 right now and anything can happen. We know that doing well in conference is our ticket into the NCAA Tournament.”
Last season, the 10-11 Aggie squad fell to Hawaii in the semi-final match, ending their farthest thrust into the WAC postseason. With key veterans who played against Hawaii last year anchoring the team, Cairns said her team understands what is at stake and that there is little room for error.
This is especially true for USU, which only has home field advantage for three of the seven games and face a tough back-to-back road weekend schedule against Hawaii and San Jose State near the end of the month.
Regardless of what the schedule ahead looks like, Cairns said she is only focused on winning one game at a time and that starts Friday at 3 p.m., when the Aggies take on Idaho.
For the second straight season, USU begins conference play against the Vandals. In their last meeting, the Aggies blasted Idaho 4-0 in Moscow, Idaho. The Aggies have fared well in WAC openers, winning each opener since joining the WAC in the 2005 season.
But Cairns said past performance will in no way determine an easy victory, and each game runs the risk of an upset – even against a Vandal squad that posts a 1-10-1 record.
“Against Idaho, we’re anticipating a very defensive team,” Cairns said. “We’re going to need some special performances from our attackers because they haven’t given away a ton of goals. They’re a good defensive team.”
Scoring goals is a sore spot for the Aggie forwards, Cairns said, who have been denied a goal in three of their last four games.
“They’re not happy about that,” Cairns said of her forwards. “They’re focused with what we need to do. The rest of the lines, the midfield, everybody can do more to help our attack. While they’re definitely feeling the accountability of it, our team is feeling the accountability as well.”
Not only will the Aggies need a powerful offense against Idaho, they will need a potent attack when they turn around to take on Boise State on the road Sunday.
USU vs. Boise State
The last time the two teams met, the Broncos won off a controversial goal in the waning minutes of the match. It was also the game in which then-team captain Dana Peart took a hard fall and tore her PCL, limiting her playing time for the remainder of the season.
Yes, there’s some bad blood between these teams, one of the “heated rivalries” Cairns said dominate WAC play.
The Broncos are 7-4-1 on the season and are currently placed third. Boise State and the Aggies shared four common non-conference opponents this season, with the Aggies faring 3-1 in those matches, while the Broncos came out 2-2. Rest of the WAC schedule
From there, the Aggies’s schedule doesn’t get any easier, but Cairns said getting through this weekend is an important first step.
Besides game-to-game focus, Cairns said she has spent some time this week providing a brief history lesson of conference play to her younger players, many of which play a large number of minutes.
“They’re definitely grasping it as a group,” Cairns said. “I’m confident that our rookies are very prepared for WAC play.”
As confident as she is in her rookies, Cairns said she is relying heavily on her veteran players, particularly goalkeeper Ali Griffin. In her senior year, Griffin has made 49 saves, posted three shutouts and boasts a .766 save percentage. Cairns said she will stick with Griffin throughout the conference play, though if something were to happen to her, she is confident in freshman backup Molli Merrill.
“We just need to have some consistency,” Cairns said. “Right now, Ali is our number one goalkeeper. Molli is absolutely capable.”
Consistency is what the Aggies will need overall to win in a conference that is currently so tight in competition that there is no clear favorite to win the title – something Cairns said has her a little worried.
Louisiana Tech currently leads the WAC with a stunning 10-2-1 record. But, last year’s cellar dweller has played a schedule dominated by smaller schools, which could work to boost the confidence of a struggling program. Hawaii (4-4-3) and Boise State are both ahead of the Aggies, who are in turn one win ahead of Fresno State (4-7-1).
With such a close contest, Cairns said her key to conference is “not overlooking any one opponent.”
–seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu