USU women’s soccer midseason report
For the second match in a row, a foul call led to the deciding goal against the Utah State University women’s soccer team.
The foul was called in the 29th minute of Friday’s match and led to a free kick for New Mexico’s Gwen Maly who shot the ball around Utah State’s wall formation and into the net. After this, the Aggies struggled to maintain possession for the rest of the first half.
“We were not happy with their mental response after that second goal,” head coach Heather Cairns said. “We were too slow on the ball and we were not getting in the supporting positions.”
While Utah State played much better in the second half, all the scoring was isolated to the first.
An early goal by New Mexico in the seventh minute was followed by one in the 19th minute by the Aggies’ junior midfielder Kami Warner. Warner received the ball off of a cross from junior midfielder Ashley Cardozo. Seeing an opportunity, Warner booted the ball into the top left corner to equalize.
“I hit it and I was like, ‘Oh, this is going in for sure,” Warner said. “It felt great.”
Kami Warner with a goal in the 18th minute. She finishes a cross from the aggies making the score 1-1. Both teams capitalized from their first shots of the game. #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/0zYIlejU38
— USU Soccer (@USUsoccer) October 11, 2019
Utah State created many more scoring opportunities in the second half. But only Warner’s 19th minute shot found the back of the net. The rest of the shots popped off the crossbar or got saved by the Lobo’s keeper.
“You could tell we had a lot more energy and created a lot more chances for ourselves,” Warner said, “and we just couldn’t finish.”
In total, the Aggies had 9 shots, all on goal. New Mexico logged 17 total shots with 11 on goal.
The 2-1 loss marked the Aggies’ first home defeat and first back-to-back loss of the 2019 season.
“It just didn’t go in our favor,” Warner said. “And that hurts but that’s just how soccer is sometimes.”
Regardless of the loss, this season has been exponentially better for the Aggies when compared to last year.
With five matches left in the season, the team has already won twice the amount of games it did all last year. According to Cairns, the Aggies’ goal to be more attack-minded has factored into this.
Photo by: Samuel Woubshet. Junior midfielder Ashley Cardozo takes a corner kick during Utah State’s 1-0 loss to San Diego State Sunday afternoon.
“We are creating a lot more chances, we’re defending less,” Cairns said. “It’s just kind of putting that final piece together in the attacking third a little bit sharper.”
In 14 matches, Utah State has also beaten its total number of goals last season. The team currently sits at 16 goals, last year the Aggies only managed to net 15.
“Last season was a dry year,” Cairns said. “You know, we were a desert last season with that. So I’ve been happy.”
Not only has the team improved in scoring, but it also hasn’t had to rely on just one player to do it. As mentioned in a previous article, the Aggies have had twelve players log goals this season. Allowing them to be the most diverse scoring team in the conference.
“I think it’s really just everybody focusing on ‘hey I can win the moment I can win that special moment,” Cairns said.
According to Cairns, the lack of an “alpha-scorer” may also have something to do with the formations Utah State sets up. The team rotates about 12 players into the six attacking positions on the field.
“At some point, all of them have gotten on the board for us,” Cairns said. “We don’t have any deadweight up there.”
Deadweight is also hard to find among the freshmen class. Of the 12 players to score this season, four have been freshmen.
Freshman forward Sid Barlow has become quite an offensive force for the Aggies. Barlow has started every match this season, logged 25 total shots and is currently tied for most goals on the team. She’s done all of this after tearing her ACL just over a year ago.
“I think Sid’s been fantastic,” Cairns said. “She obviously has been a real big influence on us, we’re super stoked.”
Freshman goalkeeper Diera Walton has also been a key player for Utah State, logging 61 saves in the 13 games she’s played.
While these stats are promising, they may not be enough. So far, Utah State has only logged one Mountain West win this year and sits second to last in conference standings.
The team still has to face top-ranked Boise State and second place Colorado State in upcoming matches. The Aggies will need to keep a “game-by-game” mentality as they work to overcome what appears to be an uphill battle for the remainder of the season.
Twitter: @SydChap