USU outlasts Gonzaga in overtime thriller to advance to Pac-12 championship

Utah State survived in an overtime thriller against the Gonzaga Bulldogs that would be settled through penalty kicks, 7-6. Although the stat sheet seemingly shows a USU dominant win, what occurred on the field would say otherwise.

As the clock began to run, USU found themselves on the back foot as Gonzaga would apply early pressure. A large portion of the first half was spent in the midfield as both teams would search for ways to get momentum.

While USU didn’t have many drawn-out offensive possessions in the first half, they were able to press the Bulldogs on the ones they had, as they would outshoot the Bulldogs 14-1. Despite the shots, not many were competitive, as only three of the fourteen shots were on goal.

As the half came to a close, the Aggie offense began to come alive, as they applied a lot of pressure in the closing moments. While they still couldn’t capitalize, they did set the tone that they would carry into the second half.

The Aggies stayed hot in the second half, once again outshooting the Bulldogs 9-3. While still shooting well, the Aggies were not able to find the back of the goal, with two shots in the half hitting the crossbar.

Midway through the half, one of the most chaotic moments of the night would unfold on an Aggie corner kick. Off the kick, the USU header would be blocked by the goalie, but the Aggies would take another shot at the goal on the rebound. A pile-up ensued, and the Aggies were still unable to score. During the play, junior Kaeda Wilson would receive a red card for a dangerous play in the pile-up.

Following the play, the momentum shifted towards Gonzaga, as they would control the pace for much of the rest of regulation.

“A red card always feels like a little bit of a punch to the gut, but I didn’t feel like we lost momentum,” head coach Manny Martins said. “I actually felt like we dug deep, and everyone was willing to work a little extra for the player we were missing, and again, we finished the half like the team that wanted to win.”

With the Aggies down a man, the defense stepped up. While the Bulldogs attacked the goal, the Aggie defense was able to keep the game scoreless as time expired.

“We did go a man down, which was never easy, but I kind of feel like that forced us to rise to the occasion and really like stay composed and play our game, and I mean I think we played so good with or without the extra man,” goalkeeper Ivy Nystro said. “It didn’t affect us mentally, and we stayed composed, and we just stuck to our game plan.”

In the first overtime, Gonzaga would control the pace for nearly the entire period. Once again, USU would have to rely on its defense to keep them in it. The Aggies continued the shutout and survived to head to second overtime.

While second overtime started very similarly to the first, USU would start to gain momentum in the closing five minutes. They would take four shots on goal in the final moments, but once again they couldn’t find the goal. With time expiring, the game went to penalty kicks.

Both teams would take their first four penalty kicks. Goalkeeper Ivy Nystrom was able to make a save, but the following Aggie kick would bounce off the goalpost. After a Bulldog miss, the Aggies would walk it off as sophomore defender Victoria Espinoza would put her kick into the back of the goal to seal the win for the Aggies.

“I knew not to get too overwhelmed. I knew this was the last one, but I knew I was just going to make it,” Espinoza said. “I’m just very grateful for having teammates that believe in me, and they’re very supportive.”

With the win, the Aggies will now head to the conference championship to face off against Boise State. The game will be a rematch of last year’s Mountain West championship, where the Aggies took down the Broncos. The game will be at 5:30 at Bell Field.