Utah Soccer Keeps No. 11 Cal in Check, 0-0

Friday, September 27

Salt Lake City, Utah

7:30 PM

University of Utah

4-1-5

No. 11 California

6-0-3

OT 3

OT 4

No. 11 California

Utah

9/27/2013 12:00 AM | Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 27, 2013

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah soccer opened the 2013 Pac-12 portion of its schedule with a scoreless tie against No. 11 Cal this evening at Ute Field. The Utes now stand at 4-1-5 on the season and remain unbeaten at home this season.

"The back line did a nice job controlling the attack and I thought Megan Trabert and Jenny Hutton were spectacular," Head Coach Rich Manning said. "The two of them made great decisions, communicated, tackled well, attacked, did everything we wanted them to. I also thought Lindsey's distribution and control was key."

In the second overtime, Utah came closest to breaking the deadlock as Katie Rigby had a try go wide before Kaycee Buckley, kept onside by a Cal defender that had slipped on the far side of the field, had a try go awry. Allie Wisner had a chance blocked out of bounds when a Cal defender closed her down and collided with the senior.

Lindsey Luke was called upon to make a big save on Cal's Taylor Comeau in the extra session. The sophomore goalkeeper made two saves on the evening for her fifth shutout of the season. The Utes out-shot the Golden Bears, 11-10 and held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

"As a team we possessed the ball as well as we have all season," Manning added. "We made really good decisions in the attacking part of the field and credit goes to the two Katies, Kaycee and Avery. Their patience paid off with two or three good chances."

Utah was the aggressor early on getting a nice chance from Allie Wisner and two corner kicks in the first eight minutes. Kaycee Buckley and Katie Taylor each had tries blocked by Cal defenders and Ashton Hall went wide as the flurry continued. The last chance of the half occurred when Buckley was blocked for a second time in the 40th minute.

Wisner had a look at goal two minutes into the second half but was denied by Cal goalkeeper Emily Kruger. Avery Ford had a pair of tries turned aside by Kruger that kept the game scoreless and forced an overtime period.

This was the fifth tie for the Utes which breaks the single-season mark of four set during the 2007 year (12-5-4).

"We're pleased with the effort and performance but disappointed to not get the win," Manning stated. "I think we can build on some of the things we did tonight. We appreciated the support tonight from the fellow student athletes and it was a great atmosphere for our first Pac-12 game."

The Utes remain at home with two Pac-12 clashes next weekend. The Utes host Oregon on Friday evening at 7 p.m. before Oregon State comes to town on Sunday at 1 p.m.