By Tom Quinn

The U soccer team lived up to the preseason hype surrounding its 2006 campaign this weekend, going 1-1 against two of the country’s top soccer programs in the annual Santa Clara/Adidas Classic.

“Overall, this weekend was very positive for us,” U head coach Rich Manning said. “We played with good energy, good teamwork and we showed some other positives as well.”

The Utes certainly started both the tournament and their 2006 season off on the right foot; they defeated No. 19 Stanford 2-1, handing the Cardinal just its second opening-day loss in the last 18 years.

Emily Campbell put the Utes on the board in the 35th minute with a rocket from 25 yards out. The junior midfielder benefited from a poorly executed clear by the Stanford defense and wasted little time in making the Cardinal pay.

Super sophomore Adele Letro all but sealed the victory for the Utes with a 12-yard strike in the 78th minute. Letro’s eighth career goal came as a result of a well-played give-and-go from freshman forward Kelly Islieb.

A perfunctory goal by Stanford’s Mimi Yuhas with 90 seconds left in the match was the lone hiccup for both the stifling Utah defense and senior keeper Ashley Mason, who contributed four saves on the night.

“Our back four was very organized, and we were able to get Stanford offside four or five times just because we were playing good soccer,” Manning said. “Katie Battazzo and Melissa Crespo did a good job of communicating, and that made a big difference for us.”

Unfortunately, the Utes relied too much on defense and not enough on offense and ball control in the second game of the weekend set, a 1-0 loss to Santa Clara, the No. 2 team in the nation.

“We played without a certain assertiveness for a large part of the second half,” Manning said. “At one point, we did nothing but defend for about 25 minutes. We were giving them a lot of chances, and it was only a matter of time until they scored.”

Utah’s back four remained characteristically stalwart until the 75th minute, when senior defender Hillary Schwarzbach took advantage of one of the Broncos’ 12 corner kicks, burying a shot from 14 yards out.

The Broncos also dominated the game in terms of shots and shots-on-goal, recording 16 to the Utes’ nine in the first category, and seven to the Utes’ three in the latter.

The only major statistical area in which Utah came out on top was saves; senior keeper Ashley Mason played a phenomenal game, pulling down six saves on the afternoon.

While some coaches might be tempted to claim a moral victory after nearly defeating the second-ranked team in the country, Manning is much more outcome-oriented.

“We’re never satisfied with a loss,” Manning said. “We’re all a little disappointed with our second-half effort.”

Kamil Krzaczynski

Ute junior defender Katie Battazzo battles with a UVSC opponent during the U’s Aug. 15 scrimmage against the Wolverines.

Kamil Krzaczynski

Ute senior Melissa Wayman pokes the ball past a UVSC defender during Utah’s 3-1 exhibition win Aug. 15. The Utes opened the regular season this weekend, going 1-1.