Photo by Jeff Barrett
By Calvin Jensen
In a heated showdown on Thursday afternoon, the 15th ranked Utah State Eastern men’s soccer team secured a hard-fought victory against Snow College with a final score of 2-1.
Snow College drew first blood as Mucioko Banza found the back of the net at the 14:48 mark of the first half with an unassisted goal to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead.
However, the Utah State Eastern Eagles responded with determination. At the 27:15 mark of the first half, Vinicius De Silva, with a well-timed assist from Osvaldo Escalona, netted the equalizer, leveling the score at 1-1. De Silva’s goal ignited the crowd, and it was a clear sign that the Eagles were not going down without a fight.
The second half saw intense action on the field, with both teams striving to take the lead. The pressure from Eastern’s offense finally paid off in the 87th minute when Aleksandar Mihajlovi, assisted by Aiden McMullin, delivered a goal that would prove to be the game-winner. The Eagles took a 2-1 lead, bringing the crowd to their feet as they watched the team come together in celebration.
Offensively, Utah State Eastern had 17 shots, nine on target. In his 90 minutes of play, Mathias Del Lago for Utah State Eastern shined with six saves during the game.
No. 15 Utah State Eastern (10-2-1, 8-2-1) will compete in its final regular season game against undefeated No. 2 Salt Lake Community College (13-0-2, 9-0-2) at home on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 1:30 p.m. on the Castleview Hospital Soccer Field.