LOGAN, Utah — No. 20 Utah State soccer (13-3-4, 6-1-1 Pac-12) will play for a Pac-12 Tournament title on Saturday after winning a penalty kick thriller over Gonzaga Wednesday evening at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field. The Aggies and Bulldogs played 110 scoreless minutes, before USU advanced with a 6-5 PK shootout win.
Against the only team that they lost to in Pac-12 play, the Aggies avenged their loss and will now have an opportunity to win their fourth-straight conference tournament title in what is the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament. For the third-straight year, they will meet Boise State in the title game, when top-seeded USU faces the 2-seed Broncos Saturday night.
Utah State was tasked with overcoming major adversity late in this one. After dominating the game's possession through most of regulation and out-shooting the Zags 22-2 through the first 80 minutes of the contest, junior defender Kaeda Wilson was disqualified from the match in the 81st minute as she was sent off with a red card for a foul just in front of the Gonzaga goal.
Despite playing with just 10 players for the rest of regulation and the two overtime periods, the Aggies continued to defend and create opportunities. Gonzaga didn't tally a single shot on goal until the 105th minute, its only of the match. USU had four shorthanded shots in the second overtime period, before the match was sent to penalty kicks.
In the PK shootout, the first five takers for each side were successful in finding the back of the net, sending it to sudden death rounds. In round six, USU sophomore goalkeeper Ivy Nystrom made a diving save, but an Aggie miss sent it to a seventh round. A miss wide left by the Zags then set up sophomore defender Victoria Espinoza, who did not play a single minute during the match, to punch in the game-winning penalty kick.
In total, Utah State out-shot Gonzaga 27-9, with seven shots on goal to just one for the Zags. Leading the way in the shots column for USU were sophomore midfielder Mia Lopez and sophomore forward Kunie Hirai, who each came in off the bench to record four shots in the match.
Nystrom picked up the shutout with a single save after playing all 110 minutes plus the shootout, earning her 12th clean sheet of the season. She now sits alone atop the all-time Utah State record list for goalkeeper shutouts in a season.
UP NEXT
Utah State (13-3-4, 6-1-1 Pac-12) will face 2-seed Boise State in the Pac-12 Tournament title match on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Chuck & Gloria Bell Field. Kickoff is set for 5:30, and the match will be streamed on the Pac-12's YouTube page.
FOLLOW
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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