It was a close game for the University of Utah soccer team on Sunday as it it faced the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday in Corvallis on the Paul Lorenz Field at the Patrick Wayne Valley Stadium. The Utes remained on the hunt for a Pac-12 win, and although they were able to tie the game late in the match, they fell 2-1 after a Beaver goal.
“I was really proud of the team,” said head coach Rich Manning. “They worked super hard. We have been trying to be more aggressive out on the field and I thought we really did that. We created a lot of good chances, but we were very unlucky not to get a result out of the game.”
Utah had a strong first half performance as juniors Paola Van der Veen and Eden Jacobsen both got shots on goal for their team, but both shots were either blocked or went high keeping the Utes even and scoreless with the Beavers. Oregon State’s first chance at a goal went wide and from that point on, the two teams went back and forth with opportunities to take the first lead of the match.
While the first half didn’t see the ball sink in the back of the net for either team, the Utes did out number the Beavers in shots on goal, raking up a total of 10 shots compared to Oregon State’s five shots.
The second half saw a change in pace for both the Utes and the Beavers when both teams got a goal on the board early. The first goal of the game came from the Beavers when the ball was flicked in from a long ball that lead to a shot into the top corner of the net. With the score 1-0, the Utes quickly scored their own goal thanks to freshman Jessica Hixson who had an assist from Jacobsen.
“[My first collegiate goal] was an unexplainable feeling,” Hixson said. “When I came to Utah, I was suppose to be a center defender and coach moved me up to forward. I was not expecting a goal. I was just learning the [forward] position and finally got some playing time in the last few games so to get a goal was a great feeling.”
The tie didn’t last for long as Oregon State rallied back and scored again off of a free kick to take a 2-1 lead that would put Utah on a 10 game losing streak.
“I thought we played really well,” Hixson said. “It was a tough loss because it was probably one of our best games we have played so far, considering the weather conditions and everything else, but overall I thought our team played really well.”
The Utes will finish their season at home on the Ute Soccer Field on Friday, Nov. 3 as they face the Colorado Buffaloes. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. MT.
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