The Utah soccer team heads into the final week of the 2015 regular season game wishing it had more than what it has received. Last weekend’s matchups ended up on two different sides of the spectrum.
On one side, the Utes were full of joy and excitement after finally getting a win over a tough Arizona State team. On the other end, they were searching for answers for not scoring against Arizona, leaving the team disappointed with another loss.
It seemed on Friday that head coach Rich Manning and the Utes finally had the formula figured out. The team scored their first goal in five matches and held up defensively to beat the Sun Devils. But on Sunday, all the work the Utes practiced over the week went missing with bad finishes and decisions that were made in the final third.
Manning credited the No. 21 ranked Wildcats for their physicality and for making his players rush the ball and give it away rather than being patient and making the smart plays.
“Arizona is always a hard team to play,” said Manning. “They’re so physical, and the game becomes so frantic that sometimes it’s hard for the team to slow down when we need to take time at the final piece of it. That’s what happened today — we got caught up in the frantic play in the final third with shots over the top, crosses going out of bounds, rushing a one-touch pass when we could have taken another touch. To me that made the difference.”
Preparation for the Buffaloes
The Utes will now try to forget Sunday’s game and look to Friday’s blackout match for inspiration as the team preps for their final game of the season against the Colorado Buffaloes. Both teams will be giving it their all to get the points while also claiming bragging rights for the Rumble in the Rockies matchup.
The Buffs, who are last in the Pac-12, are hoping to bring the Utes with them to the bottom of the table while the Utes are hoping to climb higher in the standings.
Even though Colorado is last in the standings, the Buffaloes know how to put up a fight and score goals. This was evident in a hard-fought 3-3 draw on Friday night — against Arizona, a team that just beat the Utes on Sunday.
Manning and his coaching staff know what they need to look for in this Colorado team and will hope they will be able to put together the final pieces of the puzzle to get the win they deserve this Friday.
Final game for seniors
This week is a bittersweet one for many Utah players, especially the seniors who will be playing their final NCAA-sanctioned match against Colorado. Even though it won’t be their final swan song — since they will be playing in the spring and potentially traveling to Germany for some friendly games — it will still be an emotional night for many of the departing seniors.
Many of these players have also been instrumental for the Utes the past four years, including captain Megan Trabert, Baylee Nielsen, Kaycee Buckley and goal-keeping sensation Lindsey Luke.
Luke is not letting the emotions get to her until the final whistle blows on Friday, but she is starting to let all the memories of her time at the U sink in.
“It’s starting to hit me a little that my college career is almost over,” said Luke. “Even just yesterday I was thinking I’m just very thankful for the opportunity I was given. I’ve had times where I’ve been really low and times where I’ve been happy, but through it all I don’t have any regrets coming here.”
The team is ready to send the seniors out the best way possible with a win against its rivals in front of a Utah home crowd.
@chad_marquez