Slow starts can sometimes be overcome. That wasn?t the case for Utah Thursday afternoon.
The Ute soccer team fell to the San Diego State Aztecs 2 1 in overtime. Utah and San Diego State played most of the game scoreless, until both the Utes and the Aztecs scored late in the second half to force an overtime, when San Diego State won the game on a free kick with 40 seconds left to play.
Although the Utes did not allow a goal in the first half, Utah coach Amy Winslow felt that is where the Utes lost the game.
?We played hard, but we?re just not playing to our potential in the first half,? she said. Winslow said the pace was picked up in the second half, but the Utes are not playing well for an entire game. She felt the Utes should have gotten some scores in the first half to give themselves a cushion.
The Utes have not lost when they?ve scored first in a game so far this year. At the same time, the Utes have yet to win a game coming from behind.
The Aztecs scored first with just less than 10 minutes left in regulation play. Arinda Alvarez headed the ball into the net on an assist from Kim Castellanos.
Less than two minutes later, Katie Tate scored for the U on a cross pass from Shauna Gurr-Bingham.
The two teams played a stalemate until, with less than a minute to go in OT, SDSU?s Danielle Small scored on a free kick from 25 yards away.
Utah outshot San Diego State 16-13 throughout the game, but still was only able to get the single goal.
Lynnsey Asay gets her first loss of the year at goalkeeper, making her 4-1 on the year.
The loss drops the Utes to 6 4-0 on the year, and 0-1-0 in conference play. The Aztecs now go 5-7-0 and will host BYU on Saturday.
Last year, the Utes lost the first game of conference play to New Mexico 1-0, and that kept Utah away from a shot at the conference championship.
The Utes must now get back on track. A win at UNLV this Saturday becomes all the more important now for conference standings.
The UNLV Rebels are young when it comes to women?s soccer, as this is just their fourth year in existence. The Rebels are 5-3-3 and are riding a four-game winning streak going into their game with BYU late Thursday night. As of the print deadline, the game was not over.
Though the Rebels are fairly new, Utah’s coach did not discount their chances.
?This is conference play. Everybody?s tough,? Winslow said.
This is UNLV?s second season under coach Dan Abdalla. Last year, Abdalla led the Rebels to their first winning season ever at 11-9, 3-3 in conference play.
Against Utah last year, the Rebels were not able to score at Ute Field, losing 4-0.
In order to beat UNLV and all Mountain West teams, the Utes must get a good start and play well the whole game.
?We have to play 90 minutes of soccer, instead of just 45,? Winslow said.