Oct. 9, 2009

Box Score

BOISE, Idaho - Utah State soccer's scoring drought came to an end with a, 1-0, win over Boise State Friday in Boise. The win snapped a season-high three-match losing streak for the Aggies.

With the win, Utah State captured its first Western Athletic Conference win of the season. The Aggies improve to 6-7-1 overall and 1-1 in the WAC, while the Broncos fall to 6-5-4, 1-2 in conference play. Utah State has now won three-straight contests against Boise State. USU improved to 11-3-1 in road WAC matches since joining the league in 2005.

"We had been talking about how important it is to keep our opponent off the board in giving us a chance to win," USU head coach Heather Cairns said. "We held off Boise State in the first half, and in the second half you could tell that there were two teams out there to win."

As with most meetings between Utah State and Boise State the first half was hard fought. The half ended with both teams taking four shots. The Broncos took the first four shots of the period led by the Broncos' Maureen Fitzgerald taking two shots in less that a minute. USU freshman midfielder Rachel Feuz took the first shot of the half for the Aggies in the 12th minute. Junior forward Lauren Hansen was the first to challenge BSU goalkeeper Jennifer Burns in the 17th minute.

The half would end without neither team finding the back of the net.

The tie was broken in the 67th minute. Freshman defender Natalie Norris headed in her second goal of the season off of a corner kick by senior defender Lindsey Smart. The assist was Smart's first of the season. It is also the senior's 15th career assist which is the most in Utah State history.

Despite getting out-shot 14-7, the Aggie were able to hold onto the, 1-0, lead. Sophomore goalkeeper Molli Merrill earned her second shut out of the season and first since a, 2-0, win against Northern Arizona on Aug. 21 in the season opener. Merrill collected two saves in 90 minutes of play.

"Everybody did their part today," Cairns said. "Everybody contributed to the win. Everybody did what they were good at to help secure the win."

Utah State remains on the road for one more WAC opponent from the Gem state, taking on Idaho on Sunday, Oct. 11. The Aggies hold a 10-1 all-time series lead over the Vandals. There are no live stats for the match against Idaho.

Shots by period     1   2   TotalUtah State      4   3   7Boise State         4   10  14
Corner kicks         1   2   TotalUtah State      1   1   2Boise State         3   2   5
Saves by period     1   2   TotalUtah State      0   2   2Boise State         1   1   2
Fouls            1   2   TotalUtah State      3   8   11Boise State         2   5   7
SCORING SUMMARYGoal    Time    Team    Goal Scorer         Assists1.  66:53   USU     Norris, Natalie (2)   Smart, Lindsey