USU fights into MWC semifinal in penalty kick shootout
For the second straight night Utah State’s Women’s soccer team took the field in an elimination game, and for the second straight game the Aggies left the field as victors. The Aggies defeated no. 4 seed and tournament host New Mexico 4-2 on penalty kicks.
With the win Utah State advances to the Mountain West semi-finals.
“This was a fantastic match,” said Utah State head coach Heather Cairns. “The girls really fought tonight.”
The Aggies only allowed three shots on goal in regulation as their defense smothered New Mexico. The Aggies however could only produce five shots on goal. Both teams had their opportunities however.
A header from Kylie Dibb was batted over the top of the woodwork by UNM goalkeeper Cassie Ulrich in the 13th minute. In the 79th minute a shot by the Lobo’s Brianna Webster glanced off the post. These attempts proved to be the best chances for either team in the game.
For the Aggies this was the sixth shutout in the last eight games, with redshirt freshman Natilie Stoven starting each of those games. The Aggie defense has only allowed three total goals in that span..
“Our defense gives us a shot of winning every game,” Coach Cairns said. “If we score one goal, they have the mentality that that is the winning goal.”
Utah State played New Mexico a little more than a week ago on October 25th in Logan. The game ended in a scoreless draw. On Thursday the match was scoreless after two overtimes.
So after 220 minutes between the teams, neither could score in the run of play. The game was sent to penalty kicks with the season in the balance.
“The girls did a fantastic job handling the pressure of penalty kicks,” Coach Cairns said. “We practice them every week, our shooters were confident and we’ve got a special goalkeeper for saving them.”
Senior Jennifer Flynn, sophomore Jamie Duke and sophomore Sarah Lorscheider combined to make three of the first four penalty kicks, while freshman Jayne Robinson had hers blocked.
Stoven blocked two of the first four that she saw setting up junior Ambryn McCalson for the game winner. She did not disappoint. McCalson lifted one past the goalkeeper for the win. McCalson, who put the Aggies on the board first off a set piece in the game against Nevada on Monday, proved to be clutch yet again for the Aggies.
Utah State had to battle fatigue as they played two matches in 24 hours, and they played a fresh New Mexico team, who had a bye the night before.
“Fatigue was a bit of a factor, but it wasn’t huge,” Cairns said. “The girls powered through it.”
Utah State takes on No. 1 seed San Diego State on Thursday. The Aggies fell to the Aztecs 2-0 in the regular season and San Diego State is the defending Mountain West Champions.
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