Men’s club soccer falls to UVSC in Orem
The Utah State University men’s club soccer team defeated Utah Valley State College 5-0 in Logan in September, but on Friday in Orem, UVSC came away with a 3-1 victory.
“They played a lot better than when they were up here,” USU goalkeeper Paul Dowdy said. “They were calm and played their possessions well and got some good opportunities.”
The Aggies scored in the first 10 minutes of the game when midfielder Brandon Peterson found the back of the net, giving Utah State a 1-0 lead.
USU was able to hold onto the lead for much of the first half, but UVSC tied the game on a header into the corner of the goal to knot the game at 1-1 going into halftime.
UVSC took the lead midway through the second half and then scored their third goal about 10 minutes later. This proved to be all UVSC needed, as the Aggies were unable to find the net for the remainder of the game.
In the second half, Utah State had scoring opportunities but was unable to capitalize, Dowdy said.
“They took advantage of their opportunities,” he said. “We had some good looks but couldn’t finish.”
USU had a good opportunity when UVSC lost a player on a red card with about eight minutes left, giving USU the one-man advantage, but it was too late, Dowdy said. Dowdy said he didn’t think the game was well-officiated, but despite this, penalties were not a concern for the Aggies.
“We were taking hits and we responded, but we still played soccer,” he said.
The loss moves Utah State to 4-7 on the season with seven games remaining.
“We played well but we didn’t play our best soccer,” Dowdy said. “It was just one of those games.”
USU travel to Colorado for a three-game tournament next weekend.