OREM, Utah - Utah Soccer played its first overtime game of the season this evening and finished even with Utah Valley, 0-0.
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"Our team showed a lot of grit and heart tonight," head coach
Rich Manning said. "UVU played a great game and things did not go our way but the team kept battling. We kept the ball out of the net and created some good chances. We can take some good lessons heading into Sunday where we will play another good squad."
Two minutes into the contest,
Taylor Slattery had a chance to open the scoring, however, Brooklyn Nielsen stopped her from converting.
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In the 18
th minute, the Utes had another chance but Nielsen denied
Janie Kearl. UVU came back the other way and
July Mathias stoned Breanna DeWaal. Five minutes later, a Utah corner fell to
Hailey Skolmoski but her header was pushed aside.
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UVU had a couple chances early in the second half with Mathias stopping Sara Callister in the 57
th minute.
The best opportunity for either side in the second stanza occurred off a Utah free kick.
Natalee Wells perfectly placed her chip and a header by
Katie Rogers went off the crossbar before being held by Nielsen.
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In the overtime, UVU its chance to win it when DeWaal had a ball cleared off the line and Mathias held her rebound attempt. The Utah goalkeeper came through again to keep Callister from ending things in the second overtime. In the waning seconds,
Tavia Leachman got her head to a corner only to see Nielsen tip it over the bar.
This was Utah's first goalless draw since a contest at No. 21 DePaul in the second game of the 2015 season.
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Utah is back in action at 1 p.m. on Sunday when it hosts UC Irvine. You can stream the game live via UtahUtes.com
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