Soccer splits over weekend
The Aggie soccer squad won one game for themselves against Southern Utah University and one for the University of Utah in rivalry matches this weekend.
Freshman forward Erin Salmon scored the first two goals of her collegiate career in the same game to lift the Aggies above the Thunderbirds 2-1 in overtime. Not only did the goals win the game for USU, but they also made Salmon the scoring leader for the team this season.
The winning goal in the Utah game also came from a USU player as the ball deflected off sophomore defender Jessica Darrow into the net, giving the Utes a 1-0 win they didn’t earn.
“It was like ohh!” Head Coach Heather Cairns said about the deflected goal. “It was just a mistake. It was definitely disappointing because we felt like we played well enough to win.”
USU vs. SUU
The first half of the match produced nominal results for the Aggies as they were out shot 10-5 and scored on in the 40 minute of play by Thunderbird Catherine Johnson from 30 yards out on the left wing.
“The first half we played pretty poorly,” Cairns said. “We didn’t have much possession and we just weren’t very good at making shots. At halftime we had a little heart-to-heart and we just played so much better. It was like two different teams from the first half to the second half.”
Indeed, the second half showed a completely different team as the Aggies out shot SUU 11-2. USU also out shot the Thunderbirds 5-0 in overtime.
In the 62 minute of play, junior midfielder Abby Hunt fed the ball through to Salmon who slipped past the defender and drilled the ball into the net past SUU goalkeeper Holly Davis.
“She has it in her for sure,” Cairns said of Salmon. “We were definitely delighted for her to get those. She had a particularly great week in practice which is how she earned the starting spot. She’s really starting to have an impact on the team.”
With the score 1-1 at the end of regulation play, the game went into overtime. In the 100 minute of play, senior forward Charity Weston nailed a shot which bounced off the crossbar. Salmon gathered the ball and dropped the ball into the back of the net to win the game.
“I thought we did a really good job against SUU,” Cairns said. “We had a good mix of trying to throw different looks at our opponent’s defense.”
The win ended an 11-game home win streak for the Thunderbirds, who haven’t lost at home since 2004. The Thunderbirds dropped to 2-6-1, while USU improved to 3-5 on the season.
USU vs. University of Utah
The Utes were ranked nationally at the beginning of the season, but after losing three straight matches to other nationally-ranked teams they fell out of the rankings. Ranked or not though, the Utes are a competitive team that typically rank high in the Mountain West Conference standings.
The early part of the first half was dominated by the USU attack, something that lacked in the SUU game. Halfway through the first half, the Utes countered with an aggressive drive and applied pressure on sophomore goalkeeper Ali Griffin, who had one save in the half. The shooting was about equal on both ends as the Aggies had a slight advantage of 5-4.
“We played a lot better than we did against BYU,” Cairns said. “We had more possession; we had more opportunities. The first half we dominated them, they were on their heels.”
The second half showed a stronger Ute attack including a shot that escaped Griffin but bounced off the right goal post, sparing the Aggies a score.
The damage to USU came in the 80 minute as the Utes had a scoring opportunity off a corner kick. The Utes kicked the ball into the box which deflected off Darrow and into the net, providing the lone score of the game and the win for the Utes.
“Every time we play one of these Top 25 teams we get better and better,” Cairns said. “It was an even back and forth game. We’re getting there as close as you can get without a result. I’m feeling even better after this game than I did against BYU.”
With a 3-6 record on the season, the Aggies return to Logan for a three-game home stretch, which will be the final three non-conference games of the year. Conference play will begin for the Aggies on Oct. 8 as they face Louisiana Tech at Ruston, La.
-sethhawkins@cc.usu.edu