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Soccer
at TCU
Friday, September 12
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:30 PM
University of Utah
2
vs
0
Utah State
Utah Soccer Blanks Utah State, 2-0
9/12/2008 12:00 AM | Soccer
Sept. 12, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah soccer team (2-5-0) snapped its four-game skid with a 2-0 shutout of Utah State (2-4-1) Friday night at Ute Field. A crowd of 1,347 saw the Utes claim victory as junior midfielder Kelly Isleib delivered her fourth goal of the year and her second game-winner.
"For the first time I am leaving the field feeling like we outworked Utah State," said Utah head coach Rich Manning. "That is where I get the most satisfaction from the game. We came out with an aggressive and determined mindset. We played good soccer and it was a very enjoyable evening in front of a great crowd. We take a lot of pride in our performances here at Ute Field."
With the game still scoreless in the second half, Isleib finally broke the tie in the 65th minute with a left-footed strike to put the Utes up 1-0. After collecting a loose ball in the center circle, the Park City native took off on the dribble, beat a defender to the left side and pulled the trigger just inside the Aggie penalty box. Her effort found the back of the net for her team-leading fourth of the year and was ultimately the game-winner. Isleib has now recorded the game-winning goal in both of Utah's two wins this season.
"I have been looking for the goal a lot more this year," said Isleib. "Last year we had a lot of speed up front, so I was in more of a setup role. This year we still have speed and talent, but I have been able to get a lot more involved in the offense. Once Morgan scored the second, it felt really good to be up two goals for the first time all year.
"We had a great crowd tonight and it really gave us a lot of energy out there," Isleib continued. "It really got us ready to go. It was one of the biggest home crowds I have seen since I have been here."
Just under 10 minutes later, sophomore defender Morgan Skeen (Coto de Caza, Calif.) scored her first career goal to give the Utes a 2-0 cushion. Skeen pushed forward from her right back spot to take a pass from sophomore forward Lauren Hair (Alpine, Utah) in the right corner. After putting a move on her defender, Skeen dribbled into the penalty box and got a shot off. Her effort glanced off the shoulder of another Aggie defender, giving Griffin no chance at a save as it sailed into the goal.
"I think we came out tonight with a positive, aggressive attitude and were united as a team," said Skeen. "We played really hard tonight and it felt so good to win in front of this huge crowd. The in-state rivalry really adds to this game every time. You want to prove you are the best in the state and it is always a battle.
"It feels like we are improving all the time," Skeen added. "Everything that we are doing in training is being applied to the game. We had a lot more going our way tonight."
"Both of our goals tonight came from putting pressure on the other team,"said Manning. "We got good pressure on them all night and we earned that. When Kelly can dribble into space like that, she is very dangerous. Lauren (Hair) made a great run inside and that helped open up the lane for Kelly. We have been working hard on getting our defenders forward and involved in the attack, and that is how Morgan scored her goal. She did a good job of that tonight."
Utah has now won nine straight meetings against Utah State and improves to 10-1-0 all-time versus the Aggies. The Utes' win snapped a four-game losing skid and prevented them from dropping what would have been a school-record third consecutive home game.
The shutout was the first of the year for Utah and junior goalkeeper Emalee Rogers (Centerville, Utah). Rogers made five saves in the contest, as did Griffin, her Aggie counterpart. The Utes outshot Utah State by a 24-9 margin, putting seven shots on goal to the Aggies' five. Corner kicks went 6-2 in Utah's direction, as did fouls, 11-6.
The Utes' will now hit the road for a short trip to Los Angeles, where they will take on Loyola Marymount Sunday at 2 p.m. MT. Utah's next home game will be Friday, Sept. 19, as the Utes' host Long Beach State at Ute Field. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Soccer
F
/ Soccer
GK
/ Soccer
Defender/Midfielder
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