Aggies win twice on road to close out non-conference play
One weekend, two wins and more than 2,000 miles later, the Utah State soccer team improved to 5-2-1 on the campaign. The Aggies defeated Eastern Michigan 2-1 Friday and then headed to the Bay Area to defeat Oakland 3-0 on Sunday.
Both of the weekend matches were the first times the Aggies had played these opponents.
On Friday the Aggies traveled to Ypsilanti, Michigan to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Freshman Ashley Cardozo scored a pair of goals to lead the Aggies to a 2-1 victory.
Cardozo scored in the 65th minute with a long-distance shot, and then in the 82nd minute curled in a free kick. The Eagles responded in the final seconds of the match to avoid a shutout.
With the pair of goals on Friday, Cardozo tied the Aggie record for goals scored by a freshman. In 2008, Shantel Flanary scored five goals by the end of the season.
Cardozo has scored five before conference play begins.
Sunday saw the Aggies taking on the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland, who were 0-8-1 coming into the match-up. The Aggies scored once in the first half and twice in the second, sealing the weekend with a 3-0 win.
First half action was seldom as both teams were getting the feel for one another. It wasn’t until Cardozo was fed a pass by Bailee Hammond in the 39th minute. Cardozo found a cutting Kanyan Ward for an easy goal, putting the Aggies up 1-0.
The Aggies would score again midway through the second half. After a booming corner kick from Cardozo and a header from senior Wesley Hamblin towards the box, Jordyn Chung-Hoon deflected the ball past the goalie to double the lead 2-0.
Later in the half, after Chung-Hoon out-battled an Oakland defender, forward Alecia Robinson took a cross from her teammate and drilled home the Aggies third goal of the afternoon.
Goalkeeper Sara Cobb started and notched three saves but was replaced by last year’s starting goalie Grace McGuire. The duo went on to record a combined shutout.
The weekend series were the final non-conference matches for Utah State, as they finished with a record of 5-2-1.
The Aggies will play one more weekend away, in California, as they take on San Jose St. and Fresno St. After that, Utah State will have their first home match in over a month as they host San Diego St.