WAC Champs
The Utah State women’s soccer team added another accolade to its collection after defeating Fresno State University 1-0 to, win the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday.
Freshman forward Jade Tarver earned the Aggies an NCAA tournament berth, when she scored off of an assist by senior forward Shantel Flanary in the 83rd minute.
“I think Jade had a little bit of a chip on her shoulder,” head coach Heather Cairns said. “She calmly tucked it away and Flanary did what she does best. There’s a reason that she just set the record for career points. She can assist, and she can score.”
Fresno State got its offense going early, taking two shots in the first 10 minutes. Bulldog sophomore forward Lauren Lindstrom pulled the trigger in the 6th minute, and Aggie senior goalkeeper Molli Merrill came up with the save.
Less than five minutes later sophomore forward Morgan Castain saw her shot sail high over the crossbar. It was the first of four shots for Castain on the day, as the Bulldog offense kept Merrill busy with 15 total shots.
The Aggies’ offense managed only two first-half shots, with junior defender Natalie Norris and senior Flanary each having an opportunity.
Cairns said she felt Flanary’s opportunity was a big one.
“I think we had one of the best chances there,” Cairns said. “Shantel stole the ball off of one of their defenders and cracked a left-side shot.”
Unfortunately for the Aggies, Flanary’s shot sailed wide right.
Bulldog freshman goalkeeper Katie DeVault had no saves and allowed the only shot on goal to get past her.
Fresno State’s bench picked up a yellow card early in the match, which Cairns said was for yelling at the officials.
The Aggies made some tactical changes and tried pressuring the Fresno defense early in the second half. Tarver rifled a shot wide left, just 30 seconds into the second half.
In the space of three minutes, Utah State was flagged for being offside three times. The Bulldogs responded with offensive chances of their own, but Merrill did not concede.
Utah State was out-shot 15-5 by Fresno State for the match, but in the 83rd minute, the Aggies got the break they needed.
“Shantel corralled the ball, and Jade made a great run,” Cairns said. “Shantel slotted Jade in, and Jade went to goal and tucked it in. It wasn’t an easy angle.”
It was the angle the Aggies needed.
Lexie Morgan nearly doubled the USU advantage, two minutes later, and Merrill and the Aggie defense only allowed one shot from the Bulldogs over the course of the final seven minutes.
Castain had the last-gasp attempt for the Bulldogs, but her shot went wide right. About a minute and a half later Castain would be red carded and ejected from the game.
Merrill was named Most Valuable Player of the match, after recording five saves and tallying her school-record 11th clean sheet of the year. Merrill also tied the Utah State career saves record and broke the single-season saves record, during the match.
“There’s a reason Molli is MVP,” Cairns said. “Molli owned the corner situations, kept us organized defensively and calm, and kept us motivated. She does more than stop shots.”
The Aggies will now wait to hear who their next opponent is in the NCAA tournament selection show Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. The 64-team tournament will begin Nov. 11 and run through Dec. 4.
“It’s a pretty special day,” Cairns said. “We’re going to celebrate tonight, and we’re just looking forward to represent the Western Athletic Conference the best that we can.”
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu