Looking to put the cat in the cage
They’ve had it.
After losing three straight games, with the past two being shutouts, the USU soccer squad is looking for its second win of the season against in-state opponent Weber State, today at 4 p.m.
Returning from a losing weekend in Arizona, USU Head Coach Heather Cairns said her team is frustrated with not pulling off a win despite sticking to their game plan.
They’re ready to win.
“I think they’re mad,” Cairns said of her team. “We felt like we played really good soccer (against Northern Arizona) except for one missing link. I think they’re fed up with losing and not being the best we can be.”
But Weber State will prove no easy challenge. The Wildcats come off a two-game win streak, besting North Florida 1-0 on Friday, and downing Texas-El Paso 2-1 on Sunday.
WSU returns six players who received All-Big Sky honors from last season’s team that went 9-7-3 on the season.
Midfielder Haley McCoy earned first-team all-conference honors for her second year in a row after racking up two goals and three assists last season. She is joined in the offensive attack by senior midfielder Shelli Gough, who led the Wildcats in scoring last year with eight points on three goals and two assists.
Last year, the Aggies beat the Wildcats 1-0 in double overtime at home. USU outshot WSU 21-14, but was denied a goal until the 106th minute of play when then-junior midfielder Dana Peart drilled a WSU-deflected ball into the back of the net.
One of the greatest strengths for the Wildcats is sophomore goalkeeper Rebecca Ritchie. Last season, as a freshman, Ritchie started 17 games for the Wildcats and posted a 9-7-1 record, which included 83 saves, four shutouts and a 1.07 goals against average. In just one season, Ritchie ranks fifth on WSU’s all-time career saves list. In addition, Ritchie’s assist from the goalkeeper position against Iowa State last season proves Ritchie is a major threat.
When the Aggies faced Ritchie last year, she snagged nine saves before letting Peart’s ball slide by at the end.
But USU has its own arsenal.
Senior forward Dana Peart leads the team in goals (two), shots (13) and shots on goal (six). Peart scored the game-winning goal against Texas State in the Aggies’ season-opener on the road.
Cairns said her team has focused on defining their team identity and tightening up the offensive attack. She said she felt her team played well against NAU on Sunday but just couldn’t execute like they wanted. She said the frustration is coming to a head.
“I think one of these days we’re totally going to annihilate somebody,” she said. “The plan is on Wednesday against Weber. We’re going to have to have that fire against Weber to put that game away.”
-seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu