Utah State extends losing streak to five in losses to Colorado State, Wyoming
The Utah State University women’s soccer team slid further into its losing streak last weekend at the hands of Colorado State University and the University of Wyoming. Their loss on Saturday against Wyoming brought the losing skid to five, with the team going winless over its last seven matches as well.
During Friday’s match in Fort Collins, Colorado, the Aggies had great looks, led the Rams 17-11 in shots and had a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks.
The team managed to keep Colorado State’s goalkeeper busy with seven shots on goal, but despite this, nothing the Aggies did found the back of the net.
The lone goal of the match was scored in the 34th minute by Colorado State’s Caeley Lordemann. Lordemann shot the ball off a corner kick, netting her eighth goal of the season. For USU, senior forward Alecia Robinson led the Aggies with four shots, one of which made it on goal.
At the end of regulation, the Rams walked away with a 1-0 victory over Utah State.
On Sunday, snow piles surrounded Wyoming’s pitch during Utah State’s wind-blasted match against the Cowgirls. However, stormy weather was not enough to stop both teams from performing.
Less than a minute after Wyoming scored the opening goal on a set piece, freshman midfielder Sid Barlow answered back with an equalizer in the 25th minute. Barlow received the ball off a cross from Robinson and shot it past Wyoming’s approaching goalie.
As Barlow slid through the snow the ball hit the back of the net, marking her third goal of the season. The freshman Aggie now leads the team in goals.
“That’s a fantastic thing to have in a freshman,” head coach Heather Cairns said. “She’s going to have a great career for us.”
Barlow also led the team on Sunday with three shots, all on frame. In total, the team had 11 shots, 10 of which were on goal. The Cowgirls had 12 shots, six on frame.
Even with another shooting advantage, the Aggies still fell short. In the 44th minute, Wyoming scored on another set piece to net the final goal of the match. Utah State attacked the goal five more times in the second half, with four of its shots on goal, but just could not finish and the final score was 2-1 in favor of the Cowgirls.
Utah State has now gone winless in seven straight matches; five of those have been on the road.
Road games have been a struggle for the team this year. Out of the 16 matches Utah State has played this season, 12 have been on the road. The team has lost seven of those road games.
All three of the remaining matches for the Aggies will be at home, but with a current record of 6-9-1, the team must win all three to get to .500. This will require an upset in each remaining match, including against first place Boise State in USU’s last game of the season.
The Broncos have only lost one conference match this season, with their loss coming at the hands of Fresno State, whom the Aggies tied with earlier this season.
Utah State’s home game stretch begins Friday against Air Force Academy. Game time is scheduled for 3 P.M. and takes place at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field.