USU Soccer earns first MW victory
Utah State opened its Mountain West Conference schedule over the weekend with two games, going 1-1 with both games decided on late-game goals.
On Friday, the Aggies (2-7-0, 1-1-0) nearly played UNLV (7-3-1, 1-1-0) to a scoreless draw in each team’s opening MW game, but a Rebel goal in the 90th minute off a set piece sent USU to its fifth straight loss and fourth loss by one goal this season.
The losing streak, which stretched back to a 4-5 overtime loss to Idaho State on Sept. 8, would last only two days longer as the Aggies managed to beat Nevada (3-5-2, 0-2-0) in front of the home crowd 1-0 on Sunday.
Just like the UNLV game, both sides were equal with the defenses stonewalling all attempts at goals. But again, in the 90th minute, fortune smiled on one team and this time it was Utah State.
Moments after a USU corner that failed to put a ball on net, the Aggies managed to play a long service into the box with less than 15 seconds left on the clock. Sophomore defender Imelda Williams, going for the ball, got knocked to ground by a Nevada defender and drew a penalty. Ashley Cardozo took the shot from 18 yards and cleanly buried it past Wolfpack keeper Kendal Stovall.
Cardozo’s goal was the first goal scored by the Aggies offense in just over 466 minutes of play, a period spanning 15 days and across five games (the five games in the losing streak). The previous goal was scored by Sara Noel in the 88th minute of the Idaho State loss, a goal that capped off a hat trick for Noel and forced overtime.
Offense has been a major issue for Utah State all season. Including their exhibition game against Southern Utah, it took the team 205 minutes to find the back of the net for the first time (a goal by Noel in the 25th minute in a 1-2 road loss to Minnesota). USU has been shut out five times in nine games and seven of the team’s nine goals can be accounted for in just two games (three vs Towson and four against ISU).
Against Nevada, the offense was more in form and tested the goalkeeper more often than usual with 11 total shots and five on goal — the most shots on goal since ISU and fourth-highest in 2018.
With the win, Utah State is tied with four other teams that have a 1-1 conference record for fourth place — Wyoming, UNLV, Colorado College and New Mexico. The Aggies have the worst overall record of these teams and are thus in eighth place.
Utah State will play two more games at home, finishing off a seven-game home stand. The first will be against Wyoming (6-2-2, 1-1) which has won three of its past four games.