Lady Eagles soccer team dominates opponents in season’s first three outings

By Andy Hislop
Contributing Writer

Utah State University Eastern soccer hosted the season’s first home games Labor Day weekend.
Friday the Lady Eagles played Sheridan College in the opening match at the new soccer fields.
The Eagles took control early, Madison Nicholls’ long shot nearly catching out the Generals’ keeper. Halfway through the first half, Brooke Stoker’s penetrating pass put freshman striker Logan Duran clean through on goal where she made no mistake and the Eagles went up 1-0.
A nasty collision saw Sheridan’s goalkeeper Morgan Bury substituted after lengthy treatment for a head injury. On the stroke of half time, Sheridan’s back-up keeper was caught out of position, allowing Morgan Cragun to dribble around her and slot the ball into the empty net.
The Eagles were up 2-0 at the break.
The Generals’ goalie, Morgan Bury, was able to return for the second half. Heather Moore’s free kick from the halfway line, bounced awkwardly in the penalty area and crashed off the crossbar, as the Eagles almost upped their lead.
Sheridan began to push more players forward and were rewarded when Kristen Franke’s shot looped over goalie Mya Massey and into the back of the net. The Lady Eagles looked dangerous on the counterattack but were unable to add to their lead, the match finishing 2-1.
Head Coach Ammon Bennett said, “we were the better team, we should’ve put the game away earlier. We controlled the game, made some errors.”
The next day the Lady Eagles played Trinidad Junior College from Colorado. Due to the short turnaround Coach Bennett made several line-up changes.
“I want to give some other players a chance to shine,” he said.
Five minutes into the match the Eagles were up 1-0. Morgan Cragun latched on to a long ball over the top, held off the defender and slotted the ball past goalkeeper Cambri Curtis.
Claire Boman made it 2-0 23 minutes in, dispatching Ellie Pittman’s free kick into the back of the net. The Eagles continued to dominate out shooting the Trojans 11-2 in the first half.
The second half was much the same, the Eagles camped out in Trinidad’s half, creating numerous goal-scoring opportunities.
McKenna Wiscombe found a lot of space on the left wing. Finally she squared the ball across goal for Morgan Hall to tap in goal number three with four minutes remaining.
Slylvie Call added a fourth goal with a left-footed shot as the out-matched Trojans visibly tired. The match ended with USUE on top, 4-0.
“Kinda the same as yesterday, we got two goals late, should’ve finished them off earlier. Against a good team that’ll come back to bite you,” summarized Coach Bennett.
The Lady Eagles are now 3-0, beating Western Wyoming 3-1 in Rock Springs in their opening match.
They play the College Of Southern Nevada next Friday and Saturday at home.