LOGAN, Utah — Utah State soccer (5-6-1, 2-1 MW) won in dramatic fashion in its conference home opener Thursday evening, using a 90th minute goal from senior defender
Kylie Olsen to earn a 1-0 victory over Colorado State at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field.
Just 30 seconds away from a scoreless draw, Olsen came up clutch with the first goal of her collegiate career in what was her 65th game as an Aggie. She found sophomore midfielder
Kaitlyn Richins with a pass just outside of the box, who then tapped it back to Olsen with a give-and-go pass. The Logan native then fired a right-footed laser into the top left corner of the net from 20 yards out, sneaking it just past the outreached diving fingertips of CSU's keeper.
Utah State controlled the pace for much of the contest and recorded 15 shots to Colorado State's five, though the Aggies' opportunities were aided by playing the entire second half with a player up. In the 44th minute, Colorado State's Liv Stutzman picked up a red card for unsporting behavior, which followed a yellow for the junior midfielder in the 31st minute. Already trailing 5-2 in the shot column to that point, the Rams were tasked with playing the final 46 minutes with 10 players.
"It was a great game. Colorado State is a very good, well-coached team," said Utah State head coach
Manny Martins. "They went a player down for some of the first half and all of the second half, and it was difficult because they played with a big spirit. They were well-coached and well-organized, and we had to really work for it, but in the end the resilience of our team and our quality and composure showed."
The Aggies continued to create a bevy of opportunities in the second half with eight shots on goal in the final 45 minutes, but it wasn't until the final shot of the match that they were able to break the scoreless tie.
Junior forward
Tenzi Knowles, junior defender
Addy Symonds-Weichers and senior midfielder
London Miller-Smith led USU's offensive efforts, each recording three total shots with two on frame. In total, nine Aggies fired off shots in the contest.
Graduate keeper
Diera Walton played all 90 minutes in net for the Aggies, facing two shots and recording a pair of saves. After recently becoming USU's all-time career shutout leader, this was the 24th clean sheet of Walton's career.
Utah State now remains at home to host Wyoming at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed on Mountain West Network, with links to the live stream and stats available on utahstateaggies.com.
Fans can follow the Aggie soccer program on Twitter, @USUSoccer, on Facebook at /USUSoccer and on Instagram, @USUSoccer. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
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