Oct. 2, 2006

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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State soccer continued its winning ways at home Monday as the Aggies dropped the Dons of San Francisco, 1-0, at Chuck & Gloria Bell Soccer Field. With the win, the Aggies are unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 home matches, as USU notched its second-straight shutout victory and fourth of the season.

Monday was the Aggies' second 1-0 win in a row and fourth 1-0 victory of the season, as well as their ninth match this season decided by one goal, including six in a row. Sophomore goalkeeper Ali Griffin tallied her fourth shutout of the season, climbing to No. 2 on USU's single-season shutout list and No. 3 on the Aggies' career shutout list.

"The thing that I am most proud about is that we competed today," USU head coach Heather Cairns said. "The first half we looked flat for the whole 45 minutes. I didn't feel that we had energy, and we were reacting to what they were doing. To come out of halftime and bring that energy, and to be the aggressors and to see that spunk, I was happy that we were able to make that change. I was glad for the girls in that their efforts were rewarded with the win."

Senior forward Charity Weston netted her second goal in as many games, giving her two for the season and 12 for her career, as she takes over sole possession of the fourth spot on USU's career goals list.

Freshman forward Erin Salmon and senior midfielder Sierra Smith assisted on Weston's goal in the 58th minute, with Smith feeding Salmon on the right wing. Salmon dribbled around two USF defenders inside the 18-yard box and crossed the ball to Weston, who hit a left-footer from just inside the 6-yard box and past Don goalkeeper Kelly Pohle. Weston's fifth game-winning goal of her career came in the 58th minute of the match, and the Aggie defense denied the Dons an equalizer from that point on.

Griffin posted three saves, while sophomore defender Alyssa Lowry was in the right spot at the right time to clear the ball off the line for a team save.

"Alyssa is a completely different player from last season," Cairns said. "She has been fantastic at holding that back four together. She is probably the player that has grown the most over a year that I have perhaps ever seen in my career."

USF had a 17-13 advantage in shots, including 9-6 in the second half, but both teams had an equal number of shots on goal with four apiece.

A total of 27 fouls were whistled in the intense match, with 17 fouls being called in the second half. Weston received the match's lone yellow card.

The Aggies have won three of their last four matches in moving to 5-6 overall on the year. USU is now 2-1 all-time vs. USF, with both wins coming at Chuck & Gloria Bell Soccer Field, as the Aggies beat the Dons, 3-1, last year.

USF lost its second-straight 1-0 match, as the Dons were beaten at BYU on Saturday by a 1-0 score, and suffered their fourth loss in a row, falling to 4-8-1 overall. The Dons have been shutout in seven of their eight losses and the tie.

With the goal, Weston takes over sole possession of No. 4 on the USU career goals list with 12. The goal now gives Weston five points on the season and 34 for her career, as she also is fourth on the Aggies' career points list.

Weston and Salmon are now tied for the team-lead with five points each. Smith tallied her first assist of the season and now has three points on the year and 13th point of her career.

Griffin lowered her season goals against average to 0.97, and her school-record leading career average to 0.90 gaa.

USU wraps up its three-match homestand and its non-conference portion of the schedule on Friday, Oct. 6, hosting in-state foe Utah Valley State at 3 p.m. UVSC head coach Brent Anderson is in his first season at UVSC, as he was an assistant at Utah State for seven years prior to taking over the UVSC helm.

The Aggies then kick-off Western Athletic Conference action on Sunday, Oct. 8, traveling to Ruston, La. to tangle with Louisiana Tech, before returning the Chuck & Gloria Bell Soccer Field for their conference home-opener, taking on San Jose State on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m.

 San Francisco (4-8-1) vs. Utah State (5-6-0) Date: Oct 02, 2006  Attendance: 217 Weather: Slightly chilly and overcast.
 Goals by period       1  2  Tot ------------------------------- San Francisco.......  0  0 -  0 Utah State..........  0  1 -  1
 SCORING SUMMARY:  1.  57:15 USU Weston, Charity (2) (Salmon, Erin;Smith, Sierra) - left foot from inside 6 yds out
 Shots: San Francisco 17, Utah State 13 Saves: San Francisco 3 (POHLE, Kelly 3), Utah State 4 (Griffin, Ali 3; TEAM 1) USU improves to 2-1 all-time vs. USF, including 2-0 at Logan USU now 3-1 at home this season, unbeaten in 10 of last 12 home matches. Weston takes over 4th solo on USU career goals list (12).