The U women’s soccer team continued its utter domination of the Mountain West Conference with a 3-0 win over New Mexico yesterday in Albuquerque.Katy Reineke, Kelly Isleib and Amada Feigt each contributed second-half goals for the Utes, who extended their impressive winning streak to seven games. Utah improved to 11-4-0 overall and a perfect 4-0 in conference play.The Utes and the Lobos battled to a standstill through the first 45 minutes and went into the half with the score tied at zero. New Mexico stifled the Utah offensive effort and did not allow a single shot on goal during the first period.”New Mexico is one of the best defensive teams that we have played all year,” U head coach Rich Manning said. “But we talked about some things at halftime, and in the second half we did a much better job of keeping the ball and moving it from side to side.”Reineke, a sophomore midfielder, broke the tie in the 68th minute by burying a free kick from just outside the box. Isleib set up the opportunity with her fancy footwork; she had the New Mexico defense beaten, and the Lobos were forced to foul her to prevent a one-on-one with the keeper.”I’ve been practicing that shot all summer from that same spot,” Reineke said. “I was hoping to curve it around the wall to the near post. It ended up going over the wall, but it went right into the upper left corner of the goal where I wanted it.”Isleib struck for the Utes again in the 79th minute, giving them some breathing room with the first goal of her collegiate career. Isleib took a pass from senior forward Hailey Marsh and beat the keeper with a shot to the far post from about 30 yards out.”I thought we got a good performance from a lot of different players,” Manning said. “It was good to see Katy (Reineke) and Kelly (Isleib) get their first goals of the season. They’ve been working very hard, and it was nice to see them get rewarded.”With the Utes already up 2-0, Feigt added insult to injury with her goal in the 84th minute. Junior midfielder Melissa Crespo found Feigt behind the Lobo defense, and the senior forward capitalized on the opportunity despite working from a tough angle.The goal padded the stats of both players: Feigt now has three goals on the season, and Crespo, who is quickly becoming a force in the midfield, now has three assists in the last three games. Led by senior goalkeeper Ashley Mason, the Utah defense recorded its sixth consecutive shutout. Mason, who made five saves on the afternoon before giving way to Lynzee Lee in the 85th minute, hasn’t given up a goal since Sept. 22, when the Utes defeated Idaho State 2-1.Utah will continue its quest for a second consecutive conference title Friday night against TCU when the Horned Frogs make the trip to Salt Lake City.
Christopher PeddecordDefender Melissa Crespo eyes the ball in a match against UNLV last week. The U soccer team defeated New Mexico this weekend 3-0 for their seventh straight victory.