Home spring tourney turns sour for USU women’s soccer
Two losses to the University of Utah kept the USU women’s soccer team out of its own spring tournament final, but new head coach Jen Kennedy Croft was encouraged by her team’s effort.
“Your goal is to always win the tournament,” Croft said of the indoor-outdoor tournament held in the Stan Laub Training Center and on the football practice fields.
But the offense played well, she said, scoring a lot better than it did in the fall.
The tournament included two teams from Utah and Weber State University, a Dixie State College team and a USU alumni squad.
The new and old Aggie teams faced off to open the tournament – the current team “handily” beat the graduates, Croft said. The alumni team, later reinforced by Jayme Gordy and Heather Cox, did beat the Utes.
The current Aggies won their first two, but were whipped by Utah 6-1 on the six-a-side outdoor game. USU was more competitive indoor vs. the Utes, only losing 2-0.
In the afternoon, the Aggies rebounded to beat WSU 6-2. Ally Clegg led the charge, scoring two and assisting one. Karoline Johnson also scored two.
“We were very competitive,” Croft said. “Confidence is a lot higher than [it was] in the fall.”
Several players like Brigid Turner and Lyndy Goodsell played well, Croft said. Megan Edge looked solid, despite returning from a heel injury. The only returning goalkeeper, Tracy Brady, also saw a lot of action Saturday.
“She’s making good saves, but she needs to be more vocal,” Croft said.
USU will play a similar tournament at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Saturday. The Aggies will finish spring workouts April 22 in a scrimmage at the University of Wyoming.