USU shuts out UTSA
The USU women’s soccer team secured a much-needed win with a 2-0 victory over the University of Texas at San Antonio Thursday to even out their season record at 4-4-1.
Outpossessing, outshooting and outplaying the Roadrunners in nearly every aspect of the game, the Aggies came into this game with one goal in mind – to win.
“Previously we were 3-4-1 and we had more losses than wins and our big goal was to even it out,” said USU freshman midfielder Chandra Salmon. “That was our motivation.”
From the opening moments of the game, the Aggies were on the attack, penetrating a tight UTSA defense and had scoring opportunities, but USU failed to finish, USU head coach Heather Cairns said. The Aggies had 11 shots in the first half.
The Roadrunners (3-5) struggled to get much of an offense going in the first half, playing defense the majority of the game. It wasn’t until 30 minutes into the game that UTSA got off a feeble shot.
Part of the problem for the Roadrunners was penetrating an active midfield presence by USU and a staunch defensive line that was markedly absent of staple Lindsey Smart.
For the past few games, Smart has played up more than usual, falling back to defend when necessary. Smart made her debut at the midfielder position against UTSA, providing substantial playing time for freshman defender Summer Tillotson, who filled Smart’s position as an outside back.
“I thought Summer did a great job back there,” Cairns said. “She’s a freshman so she’s going to have a bit more ups and downs than maybe some veteran players, but I thought she was really solid today.”
Cairns also said Smart’s move to the midfield was beneficial, as “she just brings an energy to us and with that energy it’s a confidence.”
Confidence was plentiful in the midfield Thursday as Cairns rotated six midfielders without disrupting the flow of play.
“These are probably two of the best games that our midfield have had back to back,” Cairns said. “Our midfields really figuring out how to dictate play the way that we want and how to really dictate play and impose our style in the attack and in terms of possession. They’ve really just started to find their groove.”
The second half showed a stronger offensive attack by UTSA in the early minutes, but the Aggies soon regained possession and it started to pay off.
“I think mainly in the second half we were focused on possession in the midfield and posting high on their backs and it just opened up for us,” Salmon said. “I think we were having more fun and to have things work out our way, that was nice.”
The Aggies scored their first goal in the 58th minute of play when Tillotson fed the ball to Smart who was open at midfield. Firing off a quick shot from 25 yards out, Smart’s shot hit the back of the net.
“I just knew that the keeper, I didn’t think she’d see me so I thought if I just played in the corner I might as well have a chance of going in,” Smart said.
The Aggies struck gold again in the 81st minute when junior midfielder Andrea Seledee provided an assist to sophomore forward Lauren Hansen, who nailed her shot from 15 yards out. Hansen leads the team in scoring with four goals and one assist.
“If we play as a team like this, we knew we were better than them, we knew it the whole game,” Salmon said. “We were outplaying them and we knew we had to score some goals.”
The Aggies outshot the Roadrunners 19-6 on the day and prevented UTSA from landing a single shot on frame.
Besides evening out the season record, Salmon said the win will provide momentum for the Aggies in their Sunday match against Long Beach State.
“We know Long Beach is going to be a really good team and we’re going to have to come out and play our hardest,” Smart said. “I think it’s a good win to get us through.”
One of the toughest opponents USU plays this year, Long Beach State tied Oregon 3-3, as well as beating the 2007 Western Athletic Conference champion Hawaii 4-3 and BYU 3-0. The 49ers are 4-1-2 on the season.
“It’s great to have them at home because they’re a fantastic program. They’re the cream of the Big West Conference,” Cairns said. “It’s just going to be a great test. It’s going to be back and forth. Hopefully it’s going to be a shootout.”
The Long Beach State match will take place Sunday at 11 a.m. at Bell Field.
-seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu