Men’s soccer prepares for final home game
The Utah State University men’s club soccer team will be back at home Saturday after a three game tournament in Colorado last weekend.
USU went 1-1-1 in the tournament hosted by Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs, Colo.
The Aggies are now 6-8-1 on the season.
Each team was scheduled to play at least three games in pool play and then, based on performance, teams moved on to single elimination. Additionally, unlike regular games, the games for pool play were shortened to 30-minute halves.
In their first game on Saturday, USU played Colorado State University. The Aggies scored first in the game but CSU was able to tie. The Aggies scored again to go up 2-1, but CSU was able to score two goals within 10 minutes. The two goals put CSU up 3-2, proving to be enough for the victory.
The USU goals in the game were scored by midfielder Brandon Peterson on a penalty kick and forward James Barnard off an assist by defender Greg Allred.
“We had plenty of chances to beat CSU, but we didn’t finish,” USU goalkeeper Paul Dowdy said.
Dowdy said the game against Colorado State proved to be the game USU really need to win as CSU eventually played in the tournament championship game.
“We would have advanced to the semifinals with a win,” Dowdy said.
On Saturday, in the second game, USU matched up against the Air Force Academy. USU wasn’t able to earn the victory but held on for the 1-1 tie.
Peterson scored Utah State’s lone goal on a penalty kick, his second goal off a penalty kick on the day.
Sunday, the Aggies played their final game of pool play against a school from Colorado Springs. In this game, the Aggies were able to come away with their only victory of the tournament.
Peterson led the Aggies with two goals and Barnard had one as USU went on to win 3-0.
“They were on good goals, not penalty kicks,” Dowdy said.
With the 1-1-1 record, Utah State did not advance to the single elimination tournament. Despite this, Dowdy said everyone enjoyed themselves and had plenty of playing time.
The shortened halves in the tournament were something different the Aggies had to cope with and Dowdy said they were both good and bad.
The good aspect of the shortened halves is the physical wear on the team.
“We didn’t wear ourselves out,” Dowdy said. “The game goes by so fast.”
On the flip side, shorter halves do not give a team an opportunity to make a comeback.
“We didn’t feel as urgent as we needed to be,” Dowdy said. “[Against CSU] we didn’t put it away, we ran out of time.”
Dowdy said, “It was a crazy tournament. Weber State, the University of Utah and Air Force didn’t advance.”
Weber State University is USU’s next opponent. The two teams will play for the second time of the season Saturday at 2 p.m. on Tower Field.
In the first meeting between the teams in Logan, Weber stole the 3-2 victory, but this time, Dowdy said Utah State feels more prepared.
“We played good in the last game of the tournament,” he said. “It raised our confidence.”
Additionally, Dowdy said that in the tournament USU saw a Weber team that looked below standard while USU got a glimpse of what the Aggies were capable of in their last game.
Saturday’s game will be USU’s last home game of the season, and Dowdy said he hopes attendance will be good.
“You’ll see a battle,” Dowdy said. “It’s our last home game and we want to go out with a bang.”
USU’s final regular season game will be in Las Vegas, Nev. against Long Beach State University on Nov. 3.