After a tied 1-1 game two days earlier against Arizona State (Sept. 29), Utah soccer traveled to Tucson to compete against the Arizona Wildcats on Sunday, Oct. 2. From trailing to tying the score for the majority of the game, the Utes managed to snag a 2-1 victory in the final 10 minutes of the game.
“It was a physical game against Arizona, and they got off to a really good start,” said head coach Rich Manning. “We didn’t start the way we wanted to, but the team gets a lot of credit for working their way into the game and fixing some things that Arizona was doing very well, and then finding some opportunities to take chances and score.”
Utah found itself trailing early in the game after the Wildcats scored in the 10th minute. It wasn’t until sophomore Hailey Skolmoski scored her first goal of the night off a penalty attempt that Utah got back in the game.
“I thought it was one of the better games I’ve played so far,” Skolmoski said. “But that was just because my teammates around me were moving, and I was able to find easy passes, and it was a team effort, and they helped me look good today.”
Going into the second half, both teams stayed even with each other, not because there weren’t any chances being taken, but because both Utah and Arizona’s goalkeepers were blocking every shot being made.
Utah finally took the lead in the 70th minute when freshman Holly Daugirda assisted Skolmoski in her second goal of the game. For the rest of the time, Utah managed to fend off Arizona until the final buzzer, bringing the score to 2-1. This gave the Utes their second win of the season.
“I thought we played very well, and we dug deep to pull out a win against the Arizona team,” Skolmoski said. “[Arizona] started a little bit better than we did, but overall I just thought that we played well and possessed well. That was important for us.”
Skolmoski added that in order to continue to win, the team just needs to bring the energy they brought in the game against Arizona. If they can handle their opponent early on in the game, Skolmoski knows the team will score goals and get another win.
Up next for the Utes, they will take on Oregon State this Thursday, Oct. 6 on Ute Field in their first home game since conference play started.
“We have been on the road for a while now so we are looking forward to getting home, sleeping in our beds, eating home cooking and getting back to the normal college life,” Manning said. “We are going to keep working on improving and fixing a couple of things that I think we will need to do well for the game this weekend.”
Kickoff is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.
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