USU Soccer: Four games in, the Aggies remain undefeated

The Utah State women’s soccer team is off to a hot start. The Lady Aggies (3-0-1) tore through four Big Sky schools to start the year, outscoring their opponents 5-1. They tied 0-0 with Idaho State, beat Northern Arizona 2-1 and defeated Northern Colorado 2-0. 

The biggest win thus far came on Sunday against in-state rival Weber State. The Wildcats, who boast a win over Kansas State this season, were unrelenting. They created chances for themselves up to the final whistle. But Utah State managed to get in and out of Ogden with a 1-0 victory, for its third straight win of the season. 

Throughout the first four games, the Aggies have been the aggressors. They have outshot their opponents in each game, 66 to 36. Utah State has also controlled the tempo and pace of play for the majority of each contest. 

New head coach Manny Martins is pleased with the effort he’s seen from his team so far. 

“Well, we played some really good schools, schools that are well organized, I think the difference may really have been our team’s identity and mentality,” Martins said following the Weber State victory on Sunday. “I mean, we knew that we wanted to be a team that plays fast, that plays on the front foot, that presses the opposition. And I think we’ve been doing a good job with that. And then on the quality side of things, we have some players that are very, very talented that are able to play long games and athletes that are able to stretch the game. So all those things come into play. But really, really, I think the foundation has been our mentality, the way we press. The speed that we play with, makes it difficult for our opponents.”

The Aggie’s playmakers have made a huge difference. One player who stands out is senior midfielder Ashley Cardozo, who won the USU student-athlete of the week award on Monday. 

Cardozo has led the offense so far this season. She assisted on every goal this past week. Against Northern Colorado, she had two assists within three minutes of each other. In the fifth minute, a ball she sent from the corner found senior defender Imelda Williams, who put it in the net. At the eighth minute, she crossed the ball into the box and connected with senior forward Sammie Murdock, who headed in the goal.

.@_ashleycardozo_ ✈️ @sammie_murdock#RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/zLHhxlvLPc

— USU Soccer (@USUsoccer) August 26, 2021

In the Weber State game, Cardozo got the ball inside the 18-yard box and found senior midfielder Kami Warner. Warner, who was making her first start of the season, launched it into the corner of the net. 

Cardozo is a major reason the Aggies are averaging 16.5 shots per game. But one concern is how little shots are translating into goals. USU is averaging just 1.25 goals per game. 

Martin mentioned his offensive concerns after the Weber State victory. 

“Offensively, we created enough chances, we probably should have had another one or two (goals),” he said. “I’m gonna figure out how we can do a better job with that.” 

While the offense has been sufficient, the defense has performed excellent.

After shutting out both Northern Colorado and Weber State, junior keeper Diera Walton received Mountain West defensive player of the week honors on Monday.  

But the most impressive part is, she only had to make three saves. 

The young defensive line has had their way in the first four games. Featuring freshman Addi Coon, redshirt freshman Addy Symonds, sophomore Kelsey Steed-Kaufusi and senior Imelda Williams, they’ve done well adopting Martins’ aggressive mentality and limiting goal-scoring opportunities. 

“You know, I give them credit because the way we defend and our system is a lot different than how they were doing it before,” Martins said. “And it’s a really young backline outside of Imelda Williams. Everyone else is either a freshman or a redshirt freshman. So I’m really excited because they’re really grasping the concepts well, and I think we’re only going to get better as we continue to go through the year.” 

Utah State commences the more difficult part of its nonconference schedule with a four-game homestand. It starts on Friday against UVU. The Wolverines are talented, defeating Weber State 3 to 0 last week. On Sunday, the Aggies host the Big East’s Marquette. 

Despite the heightened competition, the focus is still on controlling the game. 

“Every game we play, we try to make it about ourselves and try to make it difficult for our opponents,” Martins said. “And that’s all we expect to do against our next opponent.”