The Utah State Women’s Soccer team (7-4-2, 3-1-1 MW) beat San Jose State (3-7-6, 0-4-1 MW) 1-0 at home on Friday. This makes it their third straight win, as well as their third straight shutout.
The game did not start the way the Aggies would have hoped however, with San Jose State dominating possession through the first 10 minutes, pushing the pace and getting a shot on goal early. It initially caught the Aggies by surprise, who had different plans for the beginning of the game.
“We had a goal to go out and get the first shot on goal and the first corner of the game, that obviously didn’t happen,” said Head Coach Heather Cairns.
It proved to not be that big of a factor, as the Aggies put away the deciding goal in the 42nd minute, off the foot of midfielder Maris Hamblin. It was Hamblin’s first goal of the season, off of a cross from her little sister Wesley Hamblin, making that her third assist out of the last four goals for Utah State.
“They are able to find each other in places other regular teammates would not be able to. It is fun to watch on the field,” Cairns said.
The game at times got aggressive with both teams pushing and pulling at each other. The Aggies held on late, stopping a resilient San Jose Spartans squad, who were in search of their first win in conference as the Mountain West Conference tournament rapidly approaches.
This was the third straight shutout and it can be attributed to the excellent play of the backline led by Taryn Rose with the anchor of the defense back in goal being Jeannie Woller.
“We are starting to trust each other more,” Woller said. The communication is really good.”
Jeannie Woller had three saves in the game and would later attribute that to the play of her weak-side defense.
“I have confidence that when I am covering the ball here, they have my back, on the left side or the right side,” Woller said.
Utah State now looks to complete a perfect home stand when they play Fresno State on Sunday at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field, kickoff is at 1 pm.
