Women’s soccer ends in tie after 2OT
It just happened to be a beautiful Sunday afternoon, a perfect day for the Aggies last home game. The sun was shining, very little wind and the UC Riverside Highlanders were in town to battle out for positioning against Utah State in the Big West Conference Tournament.
These teams are very evenly matched, Utah State with a record of 10-5-1 and UCR at 10-5-2. Both with very good defense and an attacking mindset on offense.
The game ended in a 0-0 tie.
“It’s tough to tie when we were so close,” said Aggie Head Coach Heather Cairns. “Our defense once again deserves credit for playing an outstanding match.”
While the Aggies came out of the gate looking a little sluggish, Riverside tried taking the advantage in the game early.
During the first two minutes of the game they had two corner kicks, one of which was a crossbar away from being a goal. Soon, Utah State was energized and was taking more possessions away and having more possessions on their offensive side of the field.
During the first half USU had eight shots and two shots on goal. Amber Tracy had four of those shots and one shot on goal, three of which were within the first 15 minutes of the game.
Just another piece of evidence that the teams were evenly matched, UCR had seven shots and one shot on goal.
The game was played very physicaly and with a lot of hustle from both teams. It was plain to see that neither team wanted to lose and they were going to fight, and fight hard, until the end.
Both teams have a very deep bench and utilized that bench to the fullest. There was a total of 10 substitutions the first 30 minutes of the first half.
Both coaches tried to find a combination of players who might give their team the edge. With just over one minute left in the half, Tiffany Jones had what looked like the best chance for the Aggies to go into halftime with a lead, but was denied with a great save by the Riverside goalie Tawny Poggio.
From the start of the second half it looked as if the Aggies had a little more energy, and were trying to put Riverside away early. They had two corner kicks in 30 seconds around the 33-minute mark and another corner kick with 32 minutes left in the game.
On two of those corner kicks USU wasn’t able to get the ball to the far bar and Riverside’s goalie snagged the ball before an Aggie had a chance to get a head on it.
USU had three more corner kicks and wasn’t able to capitalize on any of them. And while Utah State couldn’t score on their corner kicks, UC Riverside wasn’t capitalizing on their opportunities either.
With this game dominated by defense, it was sent into extra periods.
USU had two shots in the first two minutes of the first overtime by sophomore Charlsie Harris and freshman Jessica Donelson. They also had one other chance to score with three minutes left with another shot from Harris.
UCR only had one shot in the first overtime. During the second overtime there was only one shot, and that was by the Aggies.
Both teams looked very tired and physically fatigued. The game ended with a 0-0 tie giving the Aggies a record of 10-5-2 and the Highlanders 10-5-3.
This game of defense was played very differently by both teams. Utah State played the whole game with only three defenders, putting a lot of pressure on them to succeed and play well, while Riverside played with four and sometimes five defenders.
With the Aggies only having three defenders, that gives them more chances to attack and better ability to play with an attacking mentality.
It puts added pressure on those defenders, but Shaylee Wilson a senior defender said “we play better under pressure.” They had to handle themselves individually and help each other if a teammate needed the help. She also said this was one of the toughest and most physical games she has played in this season.
This tie doesn’t give either team automatic entry into the Big West Conference Tournament, but with two games left in league play the Aggies have a great shot to make it to the tournament at Cal State Fullerton.
-kcaustin@cc.usu.edu