Soccer continues conference losing streak
Its season has slowly taken a turn for the worse. Call it a nightmare.
After jumping out to a program best ever 6-2-2 start, the Utah State University women’s soccer team has compiled a five-match losing streak, including two road losses over the weekend that kept the Aggies winless in Big West Conference play.
The Aggies (6-7-2, 0-4) lost Sunday afternoon to the No. 25 Cal State Fullerton Titans 2-1 along with falling Friday to the University of California Riverside (8-4-1, 2-0-1 ) 3-2 in overtime.
This is the third season the Aggies have started out conference play 0-4, the other two times coming in 1996 and 1997.
USU’s league title hopes are all but diminished now, but Aggie Head Coach Jen Kennedy Croft said her biggest worry right now is for the team to simply know what it feels like to win again.
“I’m not even worried about the conference title picture right now,” she said. “I expect to win every game from here on out and I think we can.”
CSF 2, USU 1
USU scored first off a goal from Brigid Turner in the 23rd minute as she took a back pass from Amber Tracy inside the box and buried it far post from six yards out, past diving Titan goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.
The Titans tied the score in the 42nd minute as sophomore Kellie Cox sent a sweeping cross into the box where it was knocked to the ground by junior Nadia Hernandez who pushed it to the waiting Erica Jacalone who chipped it over Aggie goalkeeper Megan Mills.
It took Fullerton until the 77th minute to break the tie as Bowman took a short pass from Erin Shelton and rocketed the ball past the outstretched keeper from 25 yards out for the game-winner.
Fullerton (10-1-1, 4-0) has an seven-match winning streak and has not lost at home since early in the 2001 season.
UCR 3, USU 2 OT
In their third overtime contest of the season, the Aggies held the lead once in the first half and once in the second half, courtesy of two goals by Turner.
But UCR’s Lisa Jensen proved too strong for the Aggie defense as she knocked in two goals on the day, one being the game-winning goal with just under three minutes remaining in overtime.
This was the second Big West team this season the Aggies have said played dirty against them, the other being UC Irvine.
“It was a very physical game,” Croft said. “I think we have a hard time adjusting to that. I think the refs are letting it go.”
Turner’s three goals over the weekend gives her 11 goals for the season, one shy of the 12 she had as a freshman.
“She is really serving great balls and we’re not putting them in,” Croft said. “She is really playing great soccer.”
-samhis@cc.usu.edu