Women’s soccer team splits weekend road trip
It was a weekend of extremes for the Utah State women’s soccer team.
USU (4-2-2) started out the weekend with a win Friday over the Air Force Academy Falcons (4-4) but then lost a heart-breaker in double-overtime to the Wyoming Cowgirls.
Wyoming 1, USU 0 2 OT
In their second loss of the season Sunday’s game was the first match USU was shut out.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Aggie Head Coach Jen Kennedy Croft. “We have a good team and should be winning games.”
Wyoming’s goal came unassisted from Tuva Gulbrandsen in the 107th minute of the second overtime.
Croft described the Cowgirls as being bigger and stronger than USU. She said the Aggies came out playing well in the first half but Wyoming was on fire in the second as they notched 10 shots to USU’s four.
The Aggies were on a bus for the majority of the trip. But Croft said the fatigue of traveling shouldn’t be an excuse.
“I hate to give out excuses because good teams should win on the road,” Croft said.
USU forward Amber Tracy led the Aggies with five shots. She started her first match since spraining her MCL versus Weber State earlier this season.
Aggie forward Brigid Turner picked up the team’s first yellow card this season in the first overtime.
USU is now 1-2 on the road this season, the other loss coming at Idaho State.
USU 3, AFA 2
With the game deadlocked at 2-2, the Aggies turned to their bench, and Amber Tracy responded. She scored the game-winning goal in the 67th minute from 40 yards out to give the Aggies their first road victory of the season.
The Aggies were outshot for the first time this season as AFA outshot USU 29-25.
Croft said the contest was a physical grudgematch.
“It was a battle,” she said. “[The Aggies] really fought hard and deserved to win.”
USU forward Brigid Turner continued her surge offensively, scoring a goal nearly 12 minutes into the match off of a Lacey Poulton assist. With the goal, Turner has scored six goals on the season. .
Falcon goalkeeper J.J. Wolf came out to stop Poulton, who had the ball and was pressuring the goal, but Turner was left unguarded about five yards in front of the net to tap in Poulton’s pass.
Turner now has 23 career goals as an Aggie, two behind all-time leading goal scorer and former Aggie Jayme Gordy’s 25.
USU increased its advantage to 2-0 early in the second half as forward Heather Arnell found the back of the net for the fourth time this season on a pass from midfielder Ally Clegg.
The Falcons would respond, knotting the game at 2-2 on two goals by midfielder Leigh-Anne Withers. Both of Withers goals were goals unassisted.
“I was surprised they didn’t score more goals on us,” Croft said.
– samhis@cc.usu.edu