Utah Soccer Falls At Oregon State In OT, 1-0

Sunday, September 7

Corvallis, Ore.

12:00 PM

University of Utah

Oregon State

9/7/2008 12:00 AM | Soccer

Sept. 7, 2008

Box Score

CORVALLIS, Ore. - The University of Utah soccer team (1-5-0) was taken down in overtime Sunday at Oregon State (3-1-0), losing by a 1-0 score. It was the third overtime match of the year for the Utes and the fourth time they have lost by a one-goal margin.

"First of all, congratulations to Oregon State," said Utah head coach Rich Manning. "They came out and played a very aggressive game and were dynamic in the first half. They were very deserving of the win. After a rough first half for us, I thought we were able to right the ship and play a successful second half and overtime period where we were very unlucky not to get a couple of chances to go."

After the two teams played a scoreless 90 minutes, Oregon State found a way to snag the victory eight minutes into the first overtime period. Najma Homidi was attempting a cross but struck a fortuitous mis-hit for the Beavers. The spin of the ball carried it up over Utah's junior goalkeeper Emalee Rogers (Centerville, Utah) and found its way into the back of the net at the far post.

Almost all of the Utes' games this year have been agonizingly close decisions. Of their six games in 2008, five have been decided by one goal, including four of their five losses as well as their lone win. Of those four losses, two have been in overtime and the other two were decided with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation time.

"I was very encouraged by parts of the game," said Manning. "But clearly there are areas where we have to get better. We have played lot of good teams and been in lot of tight games, we have just been coming up on the short end. The consistent feedback we are getting is that we have to be better in the periods of the match that matter most. We must find a way to elevate our game. If the same things continue to happen then we are not learning from them and improving. This was a good lesson for our young players and our veterans as well. It is something I hope we can fix in the near future."

Utah's next home contest will be Friday, Sept. 12, as the Utes host in-state rival Utah State. The team will celebrate U.S. Youth Soccer Night as the Utes team up with the United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA). Both teams will be available to sign autographs on the field following the game.