COLUMN: A much needed soccer shoutout to our Aggies
Maybe it’s because I spent a couple years in Scotland, and I’ve developed a love for soccer. Maybe it’s because I’m writing half of this column at a USU soccer match.
Whatever it is, I’ve got to give a shout out to the women’s soccer team. They have won eight in a row and haven’t lost or tied this entire season. That’s pretty amazing for any sport at the university level.
Did you know about the success they are having? Judging by how many people I see in the bleachers right now, probably not. That’s really too bad, because these women are something special and anyone who watches them play will see something amazing.
They were good last year, and now they are just one game away from having as many wins as all of last year’s 9-7-5 record.
The Aggies have only allowed three goals all season. Senior goalkeeper Molli Merrill had a career-high eight saves in the win over Cal State Fullerton, Sept. 4., and has never allowed more than a goal in any match so far this year.
Forward Shantel Flanary leads the WAC in goals, at eight, and was named the WAC offensive player of the week, Monday. The senior from Highland, Utah, scored her first career hat-trick even though she played in less than half of the game in USU’s 6-1 win over Idaho State, Sept. 11. She is only one goal away from matching her goal total from last season.
Transfer Kersey Davis has come in and made an impact with the Aggies already. She has also captivated spectator attention during her throw-ins, in which she gets a running start and flips her entire body around the ball, before launching it into the field of play.
As a whole, the team earned its first ever regional ranking this season and has climbed the chart ever since — currently it is ranked No. 7 in the West.
They’re pretty much awesome.
Not to distract from how great Utah State is doing this year, but I’ve noticed some huge flaws in American soccer.
First of all, why am I staring at a clock counting backwards? For anyone who hasn’t spent time outside of the United States, the clock in soccer matches counts forward. It starts at zero and moves to 90, stopping only once for halftime. It’s not like basketball or football where the clock stops after every play. When the ball goes out of bounds, or across the touch-line as the British would say, the clock does not stop.
Substitutions are another thing the NCAA has screwed up. In soccer matches ,each side is normally allowed three substitutions. Once a player has been substituted off the pitch — or field for you Americans — he or she is not allowed to return. This forces soccer players to be much more fit, athletically. In the collegiate rulebook we have now, a player can sub on and off as many times as the coach orders, provided they have not re-entered the game more than three times.
There are a few problems with the collegiate league rules — but hey, don’t hate the player, hate the game. Our Aggie soccer team is something else to watch in awe.
–Tavin Stucki is a sophomore majoring in print journalism. He is the sports editor for The Utah Statesman and writes USU football stories for ksl.com. He is an avid Aggie fan and has been since birth. Follow him on twitter at @tavinstucki for your football updates.