Bounce-Back win: After starting the season strong, and just two days after Utah lost at No. 9 BYU, the Utes rebounded to pull out a 2-1 road win at San Diego on Sunday. All three of the goals came in the second half, with Utah scoring the first two of the game. Although the Utes almost lost their edge towards the end of the game, with San Diego scoring a late goal in the 85th minute, they held it together for the final minutes of the game.
Sophomore Star: Mariah Elmer had plenty of shots on goal and was able to find the back of the net on two attempts. In the 51st minute, she dribbled around the defense, and had her shot go in the lower left corner. Her second goal came when she benefited from Taylor Slattery’s missed header, which went off the crossbar. When the ball bounced, it came right to her and she was able to send it in. Elmer’s two goals on Sunday were the first and second goals of her season.
Hidden Hero: Despite letting one goal by her late in the game, goalkeeper Lindsey Luke came up with plenty of saves throughout the entire match that were vital to her team’s win. She was tested early on in the first half when she had to make two back-to-back saves, and later in the second half when San Diego was desperate to get something on the board. She had a total of four saves.
Momentum Shift: Utah lost its two previous games, and both by multiple scores. The Utes have one more road game ahead of them before its three game home-stand. The win over USD ended that brief losing streak and puts the Utes in position to come out on top when they travel to Boise State on Friday night.
@kbrenneisen