Welcome back to school with Aggie fall sports
You’re probably just showing up to school this week, realizing that your textbooks are even more expensive than last year and you don’t know where your classes are and that’s okay. But while you spent the last couple weeks of the summer picking up shifts at work to earn the money you wanted to save all summer, many of the student-athletes have been on campus for the past few weeks getting ready for their respective seasons. Let’s take a quick run around athletics and see what the Aggies have been up to.
Women’s Soccer
The Aggies were picked to finish fourth in the preseason Mountain West poll and have started the season accordingly. An exhibition shutout win over in-state foe Southern Utah led into the season-opener, a thrilling double-overtime victory against the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State University. The winning goal was scored in the 102nd minute by freshman midfielder Ashley Cardozo, one of four freshmen in the starting lineup. The Aggies finished off the weekend with a 2-0 victory over Montana as Cardozo scored the game-winner with her second goal of the homestand. Senior forward Bailee Hammond picked up an insurance goal later in the second half to seal that victory. Senior goalkeeper Sara Cobb earned conference defensive player of the week honors with the consecutive shutouts. This past weekend the Aggies fell 2-0 on the road against No. 18 Utah before another double-overtime performance ended in a draw against Cal State Fullerton on Sunday. Looking ahead, Utah State will have a string of road games before hosting San Diego State on September 29.
Volleyball
Utah State is primed to make some noise in the Mountain West this year, with a ton of returning experience at key positions. The team started the season at the Arkansas Classic this week, picking up a three-set sweep over Louisiana Monroe and a 3-1 win against Cal State Bakersfield before losing to Arkansas in the tournament finale. Returning all-conference selection Lauren Anderson, a senior outside, is already off to a great start with 41 kills through the three matches. Fellow-seniors Kayla DeCoursey and Rachel Gale-Hammond, with junior Lauren O’Brien, round out an impressive Aggie attack. Junior libero Tasia Taylor has stepped into the starting role nicely with 53 digs so far. Looking forward, the Aggies will host a tournament this weekend, squaring off against Pacific on Friday at 7 p.m. before a double-header on Saturday — Montana State at 12 p.m. and UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
This doesn’t exactly fit within the parameters of the other sports because the team hasn’t been on campus per se, but the Aggie men have spent the past couple of weeks touring Italy. They’ve played four games during the trip, winning two and losing two. Sophomore guard Koby McEwen has led the Aggies on offense, scoring 19 points in three of the four games. Junior college transfer Dwayne Brown, Jr. also shined during the tour, scoring in double-digits three times. Head coach Tim Duryea ran a few different lineups, giving everyone on the roster a chance to play during the four games. The Aggies will begin their season preparations with camp starting at the end of September.
Football
You might have heard, the Aggies have a pretty big game coming up. They officially kick off the 2017 season by travelling to Wisconsin to take on the No. 9 team in the country on Friday. The game will be airing on ESPN and the Hurd will be hosting a watch party on the turf fields on campus. The first chance to watch the Aggies at home will be next Thursday when they take on the Idaho State Bengals.
As always, you can read more about these teams and the rest of Aggie athletics in the weekly issues of the Utah Statesman or online at usustatesman.com. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for in-game updates, including photos and videos. And for a more in-depth look at the football team watch for our football preview magazine, available next week.