Utah State soccer continues home stretch
Coming off of a shutout loss to Idaho State, the Utah State women’s soccer team is preparing to meet Nevada.
The game is Thursday at home at the Chuck and Gloria Bell soccer field at 5 p.m.
The Aggies struggled offensively against ISU. Both teams played well defensively, but it was the Bengals who were able to break away for the game-winning goal.
Utah State will need to find a way to score offensively to win against Nevada.
Senior forward Amber Tracy, who has two goals this season, may be that offensive force. Or it may come from Alley Clegg, who had two assists in USU’s opening win against Dixie.
Co-leading scorer Lacy Gustaveson is questionable for action against Nevada after sustaining a hairline fracture and a splinter break to her right arm in the match against ISU.
“[The doctors] might be able to put her in a half cast and she can play, or they might have to put her in a full cast and then a half cast,” Cairns said. “The bottom line is she is not out for the season.”
Cairns said she hopes to have Gustaveson back by Big West Conference play which begins Oct. 3 in a home contest against Cal State Northridge.
“I don’t care who steps it up as long as somebody does,” Cairns said. “Obviously, Lacy has been potent in our attack.”
Aggie Kami Kelley is expected to see increasing playing time as the season progresses. She has been seeing 10 to 15 minutes of game time currently while recovering from a sprained ankle.
Cairns said she has been especially impressed in the last few games with the work of forwards Nicole Feuz, Claire Schend and Charlsie Harris. Feuz played in 17 games, starting seven, at Boise State last year.
Aside from the attack, Cairns said she has been extremely happy with her midfielders, particularly Tiffany Jones, Ally Clegg and Jessica Donelson.
“They really had their hands full against Idaho State,” Cairns said. “They were outnumbered and outsized, but they weren’t out-hearted. We need them to continue to play well in order for us to click. We need to keep them clicking on all cylinders.”
Nevada is coming into the match with a 2-1-0 record. The Wolf Pack won their last contest 2-1 at home against Pacific.
They are led by the hot foot of freshman forward Kristin Anderson. Anderson scored Nevada’s two goals in their win over the Tigers. Both goals were
unassisted.
So far this season, Anderson has scored three of Nevada’s four goals and was named this week’s Western Athletic Conference offensive player of the week.
Anderson’s contributions are very appreciated by the struggling Nevada soccer program. Last season, the Wolf Pack went 4-14-1.
The year before, Nevada went posted a 0-17-1 record.
“They are experiencing some good success this year compared to past years,” Cairns said. “They are off to their first winning record in the program’s history.”
Also on the Aggie defenders’ minds is freshman mid-fielder Heidi Mesbah who scored in Nevada’s win against Northern Arizona.
Cairns is hoping the size of Bell Field will give the Aggies a little bit of an advantage against the Wolf Pack. In soccer, there are only minimums and maximum requirements on field size, and anything in between is OK.
Reno has a relatively small field compared to the large field at Utah State.
“We love our field,” Cairns said. “Reno used a football field. You can really tell the difference between bigger and smaller fields.”
-chrisbarn@cc.usu.edu -juag@cc.usu.edu