Utah Soccer Keeps Clean Sheet vs. CSUN, 2-0

Sunday, August 31

Salt Lake City, Utah

1:00 PM

University of Utah

3-0-1

CSUN

0-2-1

CSUN

Utah

8/31/2014 12:00 AM | Soccer

Box Score

Aug. 31, 2014

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah soccer saw goals from Baylee Nielsen and Megan Trabert steer it to victory today over the CSUN Matadors. The Utes extended their unbeaten mark at home to 14 matches and improved to 3-0-1 on the season.

"it was a grinder today," head coach Rich Manning said. "We fought hard and CSUN came in with a good game plan. Our defense did a solid job preserving the shutout and we were opportunistic up front."

CSUN almost struck first when Brittanie Sakajian hit the crossbar in the 16th minute of play. However, Utah remained composed and went ahead in the 18th minute on Nielsen's first goal of the year. The junior slotted home at the far post after a nice find by Kaycee Buckley.

"I think getting that first goal was crucial," Nielsen said. "They're a good team and getting two wins on the weekend is a great step. We're excited and hungry."

The junior midfielder was credited with an assist, along with Katie Taylor, and the two players are tied for the team lead with five points apiece.

In a sign of things to come, Trabert got free off a corner in the 19th minute and had her header saved by CSUN goalkeeper Cynthia Tafoya. Taylor and Trabert had chances to extend the lead before halftime but Tafoya made a pair of stops.

Utah goalkeeper Lindsey Luke was called upon in the 49th minute when she denied Sakajian to keep her side in front. Later, Taylor was stopped once again but her try created a corner-kick opportunity for the home team. Trabert wriggled free at the back post and this time, the defender successfully converted the try off Avery Jenkins' precision pass for a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute.

Ali Allen continued to pester the opposition by creating a few chances and Luke remained solid in the back, making a pair of saves on Taylor Hobson and Sakajian to seal the shutout. For Luke, it was her second blanking of the year and 15th of her career.

"We were only up 1-0 so there's not much room for error in that circumstance," Trabert said. "Getting the shutout was big for us and we just want to keep it going."

"We improved from last week and the things we worked on applied to situations we faced in these two games," Manning added. "We saw different formations and that's good for us because we're still in a learning phase"

Utah is back in action on Friday when it welcomes rival No. 23 BYU for the Deseret First Duel. Kick-off is slated for 5 p.m.