Soccer drops back-to-back WAC games on the road
The waiting game continues for the USU soccer team.
Neither a Western Athletic Conference postseason berth or an all-time scoring record from senior Lauren Hansen were accomplished this weekend, as the Aggies (8-6-5, 4-2-1 WAC) fell 1-0 Friday at Fresno State and 4-1 Sunday at San Jose State.
“We hope that by taking these losses, it’s a re-focuser for us,” USU head coach Heather Cains said. “We didn’t come out mentally prepared.”
Hansen still stands on the cusp of history. Hansen stands alone in second place in career goals scored with 34. She is one goal away from tying Jayme Gordy (1997-2000) for first place in career goals. She still has 77 career points, tying her with Gordy’s career total.
In Friday’s contest, the game remained scoreless until the 83rd minute. Claudia Cardenas scored the game-winning goal off of passes by Bradlee DeShane and Lauren Lindstrom. The goal was the third of the season for Cardenas.
The goal was only the second allowed by Aggie keeper Molli Merrill in WAC play. She has four shutouts in six WAC matches and has a goals against average of 0.32.
“Fresno State out-worked us and played like a team that had some fire and wants to qualify for the conference tournament. We played safe. We had a couple of chances and did a decent job of limiting their direct attack,” Cairns said.
The late-game Bulldog score was especially difficult because it didn’t offer the Aggies much time to make a comeback run, Cairns said.
“We played an okay match, but played complacent and missed some opportunities,” she said.
However, the offense remained stale throughout the game.
Fresno State ended the match out-shooting Utah State 16-13, but even among the shots they tallied during the game, only four came in the second half when the game was still in doubt. The Bulldogs also had four corner kicks to three by the Aggies. Fresno State goaltender Kaitlyn Revel had six saves to two from Merrill.
Yesterday, three first-half goals were more than enough for the Spartans (10-6-1, 4-1-1 WAC) to crush USU. Kayla Santacruz notched a hat trick to stifle the Aggies. Two of the three goals from Santacruz came in the first nine minutes of the contest, while a third was added in the 18th minute from All-WAC candidate Kelsey Lord.
Cairns said that following the first loss of the weekend, and the first conference defeat of the season, the Aggies didn’t come prepared for the Sunday contest in any fashion.
“Mental preparation wasn’t there today,” she said. “We played like we didn’t want to lose, rather than wanting to win.”
Utah State cut into the SJSU lead in the 80th minute when freshman Mari Miyashiro scored her second goal of the season. Miyashiro helped cut the lead to 4-1 with a goal from 10-yards out to the top left corner.
Remarkably, despite the three-goal difference, the Aggies actually outshot the Spartans 15-14. San Jose State goalkeeper Meghan Maidwald had five saves, compared to one by Merrill.
Cains didn’t feel like the potential record from Hansen was a distraction to the disappointing weekend.
“It’s a lot of pressure (to break the record),” she said. “But (Hansen) has put a lot of goals in the net, so she’s used to that kind of pressure.”
Cains also said the Aggies must have intensity for their final regular-season match at home this Sunday against Hawaii. The Aggies, despite leading the WAC all season without a defeat until the weekend, will sew up a WAC tournament berth with a win.
“We have to prepare for the next game as if it’s the conference tournament,” she said. “It’s not all about X’s and O’s, it’s about heat, grit, fire and determination. Soccer’s not always a pretty game. We weren’t focused (in either game), and I don’t know why.”
Utah State returns home for its final regular-season match on Oct. 31 against Hawaii on 1 p.m. The Aggies will honor their three seniors in Stefani Shiozaki, Lauren Hansen and Heather Pond.
– rhett.wilkinson@aggiemail.usu.edu