Utah Soccer Draws Oregon on the Road
University of Utah Soccer Team plays an NCAA game against University of California Los Angeles in at the Utes Soccer Field in Salt Lake City on 14 March 2021 (Photo by Abu Asib | The Daily Utah Chronicle)
April 2, 2021
The University of Utah soccer team grabbed a tie against the Oregon Ducks on the road Friday afternoon. Oregon has not lost a game since March 7 and stayed unbeaten in that time frame with a tie against the Utes. Utah has not won a game since March 12. The Utes move on to the remaining four games on the regular-season schedule, looking to get back on their feet as they enter the home stretch of the year.
The game started as a back-and-forth contest between the two teams, with neither side able to gain much momentum in the early going. A foul called on Brianna Pearson about 32 minutes in led to a penalty kick from Oregon’s Zoe Hasenauer, scoring the first goal of the game for the Ducks. Utah took a couple more shots on goal before the end of the half, but they were unsuccessful and took an 0-1 deficit into halftime.
Utah nearly scored on a corner kick around the 52-minute mark but was called for an offsides penalty. Goalkeeper SJ Edwards had a nice save a few minutes later to stop a goal from the Ducks. Another stop at the goal around the 60-minute mark kept the Utes within striking distance. Oregon’s defense began to make it tough on Utah and they couldn’t get much going for most of the second half. Finally, they were able to grab a really nice goal at the 75-minute mark. Ali Schinko put the Utes on the board for their first goal since March 12th. The rest of the regulation featured a few close calls but ultimately neither team was able to score again, and going into overtime was on deck.
Oregon had an opportunity to score on a corner kick with one minute to go in the first overtime, but Edwards made the stop and sent the game into 2OT. The second overtime featured a solid effort from two tired teams, but it ultimately ended in a draw as neither squad was able to score. Utah and Oregon tie, 1-1.
Utah now only has four games left in their regular season. They will continue this road trip by playing the Oregon State Beavers this Sunday in Corvallis. They will return home for two games against Arizona State and Arizona before heading to Colorado for the last game of the year.
The game against Oregon State on Sunday will be played at 2:00 p.m. MST and can be live-streamed on the Pac-12 website. The Beavers are 2-8-1, so it will be a nice opportunity for Utah to try and get a win.
