Men’s soccer club drops two close games
After losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to Weber State University in its last game, the Utah State University men’s soccer club looked to get back on track.
USU played two weekend games at Tower Field.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, they ended being on the wrong side of two closely contested games as they were beaten by the University of Utah 5-4 on penalty kicks Friday, and the Community College of Southern Nevada 3-2 Saturday.
Heading into Friday’s game against the Utes, USU Head Coach Carlos Coirolo told his players he expected a much better Utah team than the one the Aggies shutout 2-0 the week before.
“We talked to them before the game and said Utah would be a lot better,” he said. “We just didn’t get the job done.”
Coirolo said the Utes proved to the Aggies how much more battle-tested they were from the previous week by taking a 2-0 lead early in the first half. First-half complacency on USU’s part was the main factor in Utah State falling behind by two goals for the first time this season, he said.
“We played with not much energy in the first couple of minutes,” he said. “We had a tough time getting our game going.”
The Aggies refused to go down without a fight. Led by forward Sterling Campbell’s two goals and a more determined USU defense, Coirolo said the Aggies were able to send to game to penalty kicks.
After both teams made four of its five allotted kicks, Coirolo said the Utes capitalized on an Aggie miss in sudden-death with a make of their own to pick up the victory.
When the Aggies took the field against CCSN Saturday, they were the ones to jump out to a quick lead, scoring a goal just minutes into the contest, Coirolo said.
However, CCSN would get the last laugh, scoring the game winner with about three minutes left in the second half as the Aggies fell to 1-3 on the season.
“We thought we played fairly well, we just had a hard time finishing close to the net,” Coirolo said.
In a game Coirolo said was an extremely physical affair – CCSN picked up two red cards, the Aggies, one – it was the Coyotes who were able to maintain their composure with the game on the line, he said.
“I think the final few minutes of the game, they [USU] were kind of frustrated,” he said. “With nine guys [on the field], they just outplayed us.”
Despite the loss, Campbell continued his assault on opposing defenses, scoring both Aggie goals. Campbell has scored all six goals for Utah State this season.
“He’s on a terror right now,” Coirolo said. “I’m really happy with him. With the ball at his feet, he’s very good.”
USU will return to action Friday when it travels to Salt Lake City to play Salt Lake Community College.
-Jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu