Utah Soccer Bests Boise State, 2-1

Friday, August 29

Salt Lake City, Utah

7:30 PM

University of Utah

2-0-1

Boise State

1-1-1

Boise State

Utah

8/29/2014 12:00 AM | Soccer

Box Score

Aug. 29, 2014

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah soccer improved to 2-0-1 and ran its unbeaten mark at home to 13 matches with a 2-1 victory tonight over Boise State. Kaycee Buckley and Avery Jenkins tallied the goals before a late BSU strike made for an interesting end.

"I'm super pleased because we did a nice job carving up an athletic team," head coach Rich Manning said. "We did really well in every phase of the game and we scored two high-quality goals."

"I'm definitely impressed with the way we've improved already," Jenkins added. "It's only been three games but you really see people adjusting and adapting to the way our team operates."

Utah dominated play off the opening kick with Ashton Hall and Jenkins creating early goal-scoring opportunities. Lindsey Luke then made a fine save on BSU's Kayla Tucker to keep the match scoreless.

The Ute breakthrough occurred in the 24^th minute as Katie Rigby played a nice thru-ball which Buckley was able to toe poke past an oncoming Boise State goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Buckley's second of the season and the junior is now tied for the team lead in points.

Utah had a few more chances in the first stanza but Boise State came closest to scoring as Luke was quick to stop KT Clayton and send her team into half up a goal.

In the second half, Natalie Vukic and Ali Allen started to create havoc up front. The two forwards continued to make dynamic runs and pressure the BSU defenders.

Utah doubled its lead in the 74^th minute when Jenkins collected a ball on the left side penalty area, dribbled to her right and fired a bullet into the far corner for her first goal of the season.

"I cut in and I was trying to get the goalkeeper to come out," Jenkins said. "Fortunately, she did and I just stayed composed and made the shot."

For Jenkins, it was the sixth goal of her career, and it also turned out to be her third game-winner. For Seymour, it was the first point of her career after battling back from injury the past two seasons.

"I was happy with our attack tonight because we are really shuffling in a lot of players and making sure everyone's fit," Manning stated. "We're trying new things and I'd say for about two-thirds of the game we had a really nice run of things."

The Broncos got on the board in the 87^th minute as a long shot from straight on by Kelsey Nicassio short-hopped Luke and bounded over the goalkeeper to halve the deficit. Despite the tough bounce, Luke finished with a season-high four saves and denied a last-second free-kick to preserve the win.

"The goal at the end was frustrating but in the long run, now you can look back and see it as a teaching moment," Manning added. "It sends a message that you can't rest and things could happen in a game. We just have to stay positive and continue to attack."

Utah is back in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when it hosts CSUN.