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LOGAN, Utah -

USU 1, UCR 0

Utah State soccer concluded the non-conference portion of its season Sunday, topping UC Riverside, 1-0, at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field behind a first-half goal from senior midfielder Lexie Morgan and a stellar effort in goal by junior goalkeeper Jeannie Woller.

With the win, the Aggies move back above .500, improving to 4-3-1 as they head into Mountain West play. The Highlanders conclude their Beehive State roadtrip, falling to 4-2-2, after a 1-1 draw at Utah Valley on Friday.

"I think this game was big for a couple of reasons. One, because we wanted to bounce back. We thought we only played half of the game on Friday, so we wanted to definitely bounce back from that. Two, Riverside's a good team. They were a PK away from making the NCAA Tournament last year; they're regionally ranked, and three, we really wanted to end on a good note. This is the end of the non-conference portion of our season, so we wanted to make sure that we ended on a high note going into the start of conference play next Friday at Colorado College," said USU head coach Heather Cairns.

With Sunday's meeting, the two teams have completely evened out the series history at 2-2-2.

The match started out as a serious defensive battle, as both teams had solid possession time. It wasn't until the 42nd minute of the first half that the Aggies found the back of the net. A cluster of both defensive and offensive players tangled inside the penalty box, bouncing around between teams. Freshman midfielder Erin Rickenbach finally got control for USU, passing it off to Morgan, who found a hole and made it past the UCR goalkeeper.

The second half found both teams fighting for consistent time and contact. The slow pace led to high-energy and intensified defense, resulting in several foul calls, as there were 21 total whistled in the match with 13 on UCR and eight on USU. UC Riverside junior forward Tyler Cunningham drew the sole yellow card of the match in the 76th minute.

Sophomore forward Jessica Brooksby and sophomore midfielder Katie Flynn had solid second halves as each had several offensive opportunities. The pair led the offense to maintain possession toward the end of the match, running out the clock.

Woller was once again guarding the net for the Aggies, earning her third shutout on the year. UC Riverside out-shot Utah State, 19-7, with six shots being on goal and adding to Woller's season save total of 27 and a save percentage of .711. USU had just seven shots total, three of which were on goal.

The Aggies are back on the road this week, heading to Colorado Springs, Colo., to open conference play on Friday, Sept. 26. USU will take on conference-newcomer Colorado College at 1 p.m., an updated change of time from the original schedule. USU will then play at Air Force on Sunday, Sept. 28 with a Noon kickoff.

Fans can follow the Aggie soccer program on twitter at @USUSoccer or on Facebook at USUSoccer. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at @USUAthletics or on Facebook at USUAthletics. Aggie soccer can also be followed on Instagram at @ususoccer.