Women’s soccer comes away with overtime victory against Weber State

After overcoming another sluggish start, the Utah State University women’s soccer team came away with a 2-1 win against Weber State University on Wednesday.

It was no easy victory, as the final goal came after the Aggies battled through the second period of extra time.

“To be able to win a game in overtime…there’s no better thrill,” head coach Heather Cairns said.

Junior defender Imelda Williams scored the golden goal off a corner kick in the 13th minute of extra time. Williams’ header ended the match and finalized victory for the Aggies. Ashley Cardozo had the assist on the goal.

Williams was not the only back to score and both of Utah State’s goals came from its defenders.

Mealii Enos scored the first goal of the match in the 68th minute of play. Much like the one netted by Williams, Enos’ goal was also a header, which came off a corner kick from Cardozo.

“We worked on corner kicks… this week, quite a bit,” Cairns said. “And I think you saw that payoff.”

The payoff was certainly big for Enos. “Scoring a goal is the best” Enos said. “It just it makes the whole game — all the effort you put into it — worth it.”

There is no question the Aggies put in effort this week. Fans saw a more aggressive team with more possession time than they did on Friday against Utah. After a slow first half, where Weber State dominated the ball and Utah State only got three total shots off, the team finished regulation time with eight total shots, five of which were on goal.

By the end of the match the Aggies had 13 total shots, with nine on goal. Weber State had 10 total shots, with eight on goal.

“Would we like to start harder? Yes,” Cairns said. “But did we solve it in the end? Yeah… I think our team is really starting to show what they’re made of.”

Up next, the Aggies head to Milwaukee to take on Marquette on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 12 p.m.