Men’s soccer club eyes rematch against BYU
Getting off to a good start.
That’s what James Barnard, captain of the Utah State University men’s soccer club said the Aggies must do for them to have a chance against national power BYU Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Provo.
The last time USU and BYU squared off, the Cougars took control of the game in a hurry, scoring four goals in the game’s first 25 minutes – a game BYU won 6-1.
“The first 10 minutes of the game is the most important part,” Barnard said. “It’s really important we come out strong.”
As far as having to play to Cougars on the road for the second time this season, Barnard said he feels BYU has a definite home-field advantage. However, the chance to play on a field as well-kept as BYU’s is something the Aggies relish, he said.
“Everyone likes their field, and we get paid to go up there,” he said. “They make it well worth our while.”
While the Aggies realize they have their work cut out against a program that has won five of the last seven club national championships, Barnard said he feels confident USU can hang with the Cougars.
After all, the Aggies have played the Cougars tough at times, including a 1-0 heartbreaker last season in Provo.
However, if the Aggies want to repeat that performance, they must play strong defense and negate the speed of BYU’s forwards, Barnard said. In order to accomplish this, he said USU must stay back on defense, and look for opportunities to counter-attack.
“We’ll look to clog their passing lanes,” he said. “Their players are really fast. All of their players are as fast as our fastest players.”
More than anything, Barnard said the Aggies are anxious to put up a much stronger performance against the Cougars than they did Sept. 28.
“[We’re] pretty anxious,” he said. “Mainly, we want to get out there and prove we’re a much better team than we were last time [we played them].”
– jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu