Men’s soccer kicks off the year with two strong showings
The Utah State men’s soccer team kicked off on the right foot this weekend, winning 2-0 over Westminster on Friday, then drawing 2-2 with Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) on Saturday.
In Saturday’s contest, the Aggies climbed out of a 0-2 halftime hole. USU got on the board when Tyson Kelly connected for a goal in the 56th minute, then tied the game six minutes later with a boot from sophomore midfielder Kendon Knowles.
Aggie head coach Morgan Carlson said he was pleased with his team’s performance during the opening weekend, and the fast start was impressive given the challenges of fielding a team.
“We’ve never had a team this good in the history of Utah State,” said Carlson, who went on to describe this year’s team as “the deepest team ever at Utah State,” and possibly the “team to beat at nationals.”
Utah State is hoping to make the National Campus Championship Series (NCCS), the organization that university club teams compete in.
If the second-half performance against SLCC is any indicator of their chance to reach nationals, meeting the standard seems quite possible for the Aggies this year. Within sixteen minutes of action, SLCC had jumped out to a 2-0 advantage. Aggie keeper Geoff Jorgensen gave up an early goal in a one-on-one situation, and gave up a second goal in the 6th minute after a Bruin penalty kick.
There was no shortage of penalties called during Saturday’s action, but even the sloppy start didn’t deter the Aggies as they took the field in the second half.
“They caught us on our heels a little bit,” junior forward Vic Carlson said. “Sometimes it takes that to get started.”
The Aggies displayed not just the energy but the heart that proved to supply the tie. “(Utah State) had good character in the second half to come through like we did,” Trey Leonard, team captain, said.
Kelly, whose 56th-minute goal cut the deficit in half, pointed out a weakness in the Aggies’ play as the Bruins took the quick first-half lead.
“We weren’t putting the forwards where they could get the ball,” Kelly said. “In the second half, we widened our formation so we could put more pressure on them. We didn’t have a good strategy in the first half.”
USU tied the game with 38 minutes remaining, but despite a few solid shots on goal from both sides in the reaming time, neither team was able to pull away. After tying with SLCC, USU’s players are confident that their best games are yet to come.
“We’re excited about our potential,” Leonard said. We haven’t really had a practice yet.”
Leonard said that USU’s roster of 24 players – up from 11 or 12 players in past years – will help the Aggies as the season progresses. He said he is confident that the influx of players will allow USU to substitute more and press their advantage late in games, allowing the Aggies to stay fresh while other teams wear down.
“We were able to sub in a lot of players, a good group of 24, as opposed to perhaps 15,” Leonard said, pointing out that USU’s second half comeback was no accident.
The season is still young, but Carlson and the Aggies have every reason to believe it will be special.
“Once we get fit, we’ll be running on all cylinders. It will be fun to watch,” Carlson said.
Utah State will travel to Ogden this Friday to take on the Weber State A-squad before playing at home Sept. 11 against LDS Business College.
– rhett.wilkinson@aggiemail.usu.edu