The women’s soccer team started out the 2009 season 4-0, but lately, it has been struggling. The Utes were dealt a tough 6-1 loss by UCLA on Friday, and tied 2-2 with Loyola Marymount to finish up the UCLA Tournament in Los Angeles, Calif.
Against UCLA, the Utes were down 2-0 in the first half until midfielder Lauren Hair put them on the scoreboard in the 35th minute. The goal was Hair’s second of the season and kept the Utes in the game with the No. 4-ranked Bruins until the second half. Midfielder and assist-leader Kelly Isleib was credited with the assist to Hair, making it her fifth of the season.
The second half of the game was all UCLA. The Utes had a couple of opportunities to catch up with the Bruins, but Mallory Mitamura sent a long shot a little too high, and Chelsea Forbes just missed the goal as her volley hit the crossbar.
During the 62nd minute of play, UCLA took a 3-1 lead as Lauren Barnes struck a header into the back of the Utes’ net. Making a Utah comeback even more difficult, another Bruin goal was scored just minutes later, putting the Utes down 4-1.
UCLA’s final two goals were scored in the 78th and 87th minutes of the game and sealed the win for the Bruins.
U head coach Rich Manning said he was pleased with the way his team performed, in spite of losing the game by a commanding five goals.
“I felt like we played very well,” Manning said. “They’re one of the top two or three attacking teams in the country, and we defended them very well. We’re not satisfied that we lost the game. Certainly, it was another sign that we have to sure up our defense on free kicks and corner kicks. That was the big disappointment of the game.”
The Utes managed to stay afloat much better in their game against Loyola Marymount on Sunday, but let their 2-1 lead slip away with less than seven minutes left in the game. The Lions’ Marissa Zamora scored the game-tying goal that sent the match into extra time.
The Utes looked sharp and ready to go coming into the game, and took a 1-0 lead with 21 minutes on the clock. Midfielder Stephanie Lemeza was credited with her second assist of the season after forward Hanna Terry sent the ball flying into the far corner of the net.
The Lions were unable to catch up with the Utes until the 67th minute of play, when Kelley Lawson’s header found its way into Utah’s goal.
The Utes looked determined to claim the win and fought back to take the lead for the second time just six minutes later. Isleib scored off the low free kick, and put the Utes back on top until late in the game.
Unfortunately for the Utes, the Lions also made another comeback and tied up the score 2-2 with 83:44 on the clock.
Manning said he was disappointed with the way his team played when they were ahead and said he thought they got too comfortable.
“Both times when we got the lead, I thought we relaxed,” Manning said. “We dropped our guard and played like we had a cushion. It was the first time all season I felt like another team worked harder than us.”
The tie game brought the Utes’ record to 5-4-1 for the season. The team will try to snag its first win since Sept. 9 when it takes on Utah State at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy on Thursday at 7 p.m.