Photo by Tyson Chappell
USU Eastern Press Release
Utah State Eastern women’s soccer lost to the Snow College Badgers 2-0 on Friday in Ephraim.
The Eagles opened the game struggling on defense and with conditioning on the field.
“We didn’t play well in the first half, gave up a lot of shots and no defensive pressure,” said USU Eastern head coach Ammon Bennett.
Despite the tough showing in the first half, the Eagles were able to keep the game at 0-0 at halftime.
It was a better second half for the Eagles and they held the Badgers scoreless until the final 15 minutes of the game.
“We came out and possessed the ball better. I think we challenged them better but unfortunately a couple of soft goals were scored by them that made the difference in the game,” said Bennett.
Snow’s Angela Clayton scored a goal in the 74′ minute to break the tie with an assist from Sophie Stewart. Almost seven minutes later, the Badgers took a 2-0 lead off a goal from Stewart.
Outside the two goals scored by Snow, freshman keeper Mya Massey had 11 saves for USU Eastern, including eight in the first half.
Friday’s loss gives the Eagles a 5-6-1 overall record and a 1-6-1 conference record heading into the final week of the regular season.
“Our girls are just struggling finding the back of the net. We are playing hard and very competitive but we can’t put a whole game together and that is what is hurting us right now,” said Bennett.
The Eagles will host conference rival Salt Lake Community College on Friday at 1 p.m. to conclude their conference schedule. They will take on Colorado Mesa Club team on Saturday at noon the following day to end their season in a non-conference game.
The 2018 Region XVIII Tournament will take place on Oct. 25-27 at the location of the top team in the regular standings.