During Sunday’s 6-2 beatdown against Southern Utah, the Utes proved that they are clearly better than their in-state foe. More than that, however, they proved they are a team that is fully focused on the goals at hand.
In the second half of Friday’s game against BYU in Provo, Utah had the No. 6 Cougars on the ropes. BYU was playing a player down after Jaiden Thornock picked up a red card and was ejected. Once the red card was issued, the Utes went from throwing away scoring opportunities to playing solid defense and attack mode.
The attack led to scoring chances and Cougar keeper Erica Owens was called into action more than once. Then, the tide turned quickly and unexpectedly. With three minutes remaining, Utah keeper Cheyanne Mulcock picked up a foul on BYU’s Ashley Hatch in the box.
“I went to poke the ball in and as I went to get up, she kind of gave me a shove back down,” Hatch said of the foul.
Mulcock was given a yellow card and a penalty kick was awarded to the Cougars. The call left a few people scratching their heads.
“I don’t even know what happened,” BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood said.
Hatch buried the penalty into the right side of the net, and the game was over.
The heartbreaking loss coupled with facing an inferior opponent in the Thunderbirds gave Utah every reason to coast through Sunday’s game. Despite the uninspiring outlook for the matchup, it was clear from the opening kick that the Utes were hungry for a win. They crushed the Thunderbirds with good build-ups, well-placed crosses, and the same stout defense that started the season with a 397-minute shutout streak.
“To see the positive energy from the beginning of the game was probably the most important thing,” Manning said of his team’s dominating performance.
While Utah finally found the back of the net for the first time since its season opener, the more important takeaway from Sunday was the notion that the team is capable of bouncing back after difficult moments.
“Every game, you never know if the team is going to have the energy and the focus that it needs,” Manning said. “We play 20 games. I am guessing there will be a couple of games that we don’t have it. I was glad to see that [wasn’t the case].”
As the team continues to prepare to play in the buzz saw that is the Pac-12, the ability to focus through adversity will be a necessary attribute if the Utes hope to compete.