Women’s soccer falls 2-1 to Long Beach State, ties SDSU
The women’s soccer team lost in heart-breaking fashion to No. 24 Long Beach State 2-1 on Friday. Sept. 3. USU led 1-0 until there were about 30 minutes left in the game, when two Long Beach goals during the remaining time lifted the 49ers to the win.
USU took an early lead when Senior Stefani Shiozaki’s corner kick found freshman Kendra Pemberton for the header. But LBSU started the second half strong at home, firing five shots before USU got one shot off.The 49ers’ Nadia Link scored in the 61st minute to tie the score at one.
LBSU took the lead in the 76th minute when Jenny Soza scored on an assist from Karina Camacho. The goal gave LBSU a lead of 2-1, a lead they would never relinquish.
The Aggies out-shot the 49ers 7-6 in the first half, but LBSU ended up taking 16 shots on goal, while the Aggies were able to only get off eight shots.
The Aggie women were back on the field on Sunday with better results. Playing at San Diego State, USU came away with a come-from-behind, double-overtime 1-1 tie. The Aztecs got the scoring started in the 47th minute when Kim Carcich scored with a sliding kick from the left side of the field. Sarah Halverson was credited with the assist.
USU struck back in the 60th minute when senior Lauren Hansen scored on an assist from Shiozaki. The goal was the 27th in Hansen’s career at USU, a mark just five goals shy of the second-most career goals in USU history.
With the loss and the tie, USU is now 2-1-2 for the season. Despite the mixed results of the weekend’s action, USU head coach Heather Cairns said she was pleased with how well her team played in both games.
“I think we’re playing some quality soccer,” said Cairns, who coached USU to a 10-9-2 record last season.
“It was a great test for our team because both teams are great opponents.”
Cairns and Hansen both said they felt USU would’ve played better against SDSU if the team hadn’t been so mentally and physically exhausted from the LBSU game.
“We left our hearts on the field on the field on Friday,” Cairns said.
Hansen went on to say USU dominated most of the game against SDSU, and that it was frustrating for her and her teammates that the domination didn’t translate into a win. To add to the Aggies’ frustration, the team hasn’t won any of its last three games, having tied twice and lost once.
USU returns home to play Colorado College on Friday at 4 p.m. Cairns said she and her team are expecting a tough game from Colorado College, which is usually one of the better teams in Conference USA.
The Tigers are 2-1-1 this season, with their only loss coming against USU’s Western Athletic Conference foe Boise State. USU and Colorado College have never played against each other.
Fans of Aggie soccer are encouraged to follow the team at aggiesoccer.blogspot.com/.
– blaze.bullock@aggiemail.usu.edu