Soccer team takes down Hawai’i 2-1
The Utah State Aggie soccer team beat Hawai’i 2-1 Sunday in Logan. The win was the first conference loss for Hawai’i, which came into the game 3-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Charity Weston scored both Aggie goals to give her four points on the weekend after scoring once and getting an assist on Friday at San Jose State.
Her first goal came 12 minutes into the first half as she had a one on one after the ball was chipped over the defenders and she made the run. Her first shot was blocked by the goalie straight into the air and she headed the ball into the net before the goalie could get off the ground.
In the second half, Weston got her own rebound in the box after a corner kick and fired a shot into the left side of the net past the goalie to give the Ags the 2-1 lead with 20 minutes to play.
“She’s starting to peak and feel comfortable,” Utah State Head Coach Heather Cairns said of Weston. “The support around her was great, too.”
Midfielder Tiffany McQueen drew a lot of praise from Cairns as she was all over the midfield the entire game. Cairns said she played the entire game against San Jose State as well, which was tough to do for many of the players. The turnaround after the night game in California on Friday and then to play Sunday afternoon was tough.
One Aggie casualty of the trip was Kelli Allred. Allred played the first half and allowed the lone Hawai’i goal before she was lifted for Ali Griffin because of lingering effects from her concussions, Cairns said.
The Ags used 18 players besides their two goalies while Hawai’i used just 13 on the game.
“We were able to rotate a lot of players in,” Cairns said. “They only rotated three in and that’s got to be tough when you have to travel in between games.”
Besides the substitutions, the Ags came out much more physical, drawing 10 more fouls than Hawai’i.
Cairns said the physicality of the game could be blamed on remnants of the San Jose State game where the Spartans play was “borderline chippy.”
Utah State took 12 of its 19 shots on goal, which has been a focus in practices the past few weeks. Cairns said the shots on goal advantage, which was 12-7 for the Aggies, was probably the main thing that turned an otherwise evenly matched game.
“That’s been our conscious effort,” Cairns said. “To at least put the ball on frame so they have to make a save.”
The Ags and Warriors both took 19 shots, but only seven of the Warriors’ shots were on goal. Hawai’i also switched goalies at half. Both goalies who played for Hawai’i allowed one goal.
Against the Spartans on Friday, the Ags lost 4-2 as Utah State fell behind 3-0 in the first 50 minutes and couldn’t make up the difference as they scored twice in the second half.
With their win over Hawai’i, the Aggies now have six points in their first three conference games, thanks to their two wins. Cairns said she thinks three or four wins will guarantee a berth in the conference tournament, which only takes the top six teams. The tournament will be held in Boise, Idaho, the first weekend in November.
The Aggies will head out on the road this week before finishing the regular season at home the following weekend.Utah State will play Nevada at 6 p.m. on Friday and Fresno State at 1 p.m. on Sund