U of U Women's Club 1-2 Western Wyoming Community College
The University of Utah’s Women’s Club fell to a season-opening defeat against Western Wyoming Community College on a stunning Saturday night at McCarthey Field.
With several players making their debuts for the hosts, it was no surprise that their performance was somewhat disjointed. Utah struggled to settle into the game and found themselves behind midway through the first half.
A breakdown in communication in the Utah rearguard meant a long, hopeful ball by Western Wyoming was not dealt with. The error allowed Yridian Cardenas to capitalize by sending a delightful lob over stranded Utah goalkeeper Cambri Curtis.
Utah reacted well to the setback and indeed started to play with a fluency not seen in the early stages. Western Wyoming sat back looking to absorb the pressure and hit on the counter-attack, but Utah’s better movement of the ball forced the visitors to concede a number of set pieces.
Despite some decent deliveries by Sarah Taylor, Utah were unable to convert one of the dead ball opportunities and went into the break 1-0 down.
Utah head coach Seamus Leonard made a number of changes in personnel for the start of the second half, but it didn’t prevent the home side from starting sluggishly. Conversely, Western looked in control, and constantly sought to hit Utah on the break. The Rock Springs outfit were rewarded 10 minutes after the restart when they doubled their advantage.
A period of concerted pressure by Western saw Utah unable to adequately clear their lines, and, when the ball dropped to Kenzie Lucas 25 yards out, the WWCC attacker sent a rocket of a left-footed effort into the roof of the net.
The scoreline could have been even better for Western had Curtis not kept Utah in the contest with a couple of excellent saves. The hosts grew into the match thereafter, with the ever-dependable Jenny Skedros pulling the strings in midfield. With an improved passing game, Utah started to find gaps in the Western defense.
The U were given a lifeline in the 81st minute when they were awarded a penalty kick. Captain Ashla Pace made a darting run into the area. Her foray forward was perfectly picked out by right-back Emma Burke who arrowed a driven pass into Pace's path. The imminent danger forced a Western defender into an evasive and illegal maneuver. As Pace tumbled to the turf, referee James Tracy pointed immediately to the spot.
Taylor stepped up to take responsibility and lashed home from 12 yards to make it 2-1.
With their tails up, Utah dominated the rest of the game, and were unfortunate not to earn a draw. Some wizardry by Kennidy Howard saw the right winger get to the byline from where she cut back to the unmarked Kailey Thoits. The Ogden High School graduates were unable to combine for an equalizer, however, as Thoits’ effort flashed wide.
Utah kept pushing, though, and almost leveled at the death with a long-range free-kick by Taylor bouncing agonizingly over the crossbar. The final whistle blew seconds later to leave Utah disappointed by the defeat, but buoyed by a strong finish.
University of Utah: Cambri Curtis; Ashley Tedesco, Isabel Gallegos, Claire West, Emma Burke; Ashla Pace, Kathryn Jones, Emma Nielsen, Rachyll Faeth, Isabel Burke; Sarah Taylor; Sophia Skedros, Anna Papadopoulos, Jenny Skedros, Bahaar Rokhva, Kennidy Howard, Hannah Powell, Kailey Thoits.
08/19/2017