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1 p.m.
Soccer
vs Oregon State
Sunday, September 30
Tempe, AZ
2:00 PM
University of Utah
4-6-1, 1-2-0
2
at
0
Arizona State
6-3-1, 1-1-1
1
2
F
Utah
1
1
2
Arizona State
0
0
0
Utes Shut Down Sun Devils, 2-0
9/30/2018 5:04 PM | Soccer
Van der Veen and Hixson lead Utah to first win in Tempe
TEMPE, Ariz. – Utah Soccer capped a two-week road trip to begin Pac-12 play with a 2-0 win at Arizona State this afternoon. Paola Van der Veen scored on the stroke of halftime and Jessica Hixson added another early in the second half for the program's first win in Tempe.
"This was a total team victory, with lots of tremendous performances," head coach Rich Manning said. "We showed heart and poise today. The players kept pushing throughout the game, dealing with the extremely warm conditions and a good opponent."
Utah took a lead right before the half as Hailey Stodden picked out Van der Veen with a cross from the right. The Dutch senior volleyed home her team-leading fifth goal of the season, seconds after hitting the crossbar on another attempt. For Stodden, it was the first point of her collegiate career
"I started to make my run when I saw we had the ball," Stodden said. "My defender was coming toward me harder than I thought so I cut back. That allowed me the time to get the cross in and Po made a heck of a play."
The Utes added another in the early stages of the second half as Hixson capitalized on some good defensive work by Ireland Dunn. The junior out-muscled her opposition and was able to win the ball on the far right sideline. That created space for Hixson who drifted into a pocket of space before rifling home her first goal of the season.
"I saw Ireland win the ball and she was running to the end line so I wanted to get in a good space for her to get me the ball," Hixson said. "I dropped off a little, saw the whole goal was open and I aimed at the far post."
Defensively, Carly Nelson made a season-high nine saves, five in the first half, to notch her third shutout of the season and eighth of her career. The Sun Devils created nine corner-kicks and 19 chances but the Utes were able to weather the attack and get the win.
"Scoring the goal right before halftime gave us a huge lift and the team stayed strong through the second half," Manning added. "We were composed with the ball and created several good opportunities. We have been playing well over the last few weeks and were finally rewarded. It is a great feeling for the team."
"It was important to get this one today," Hixson noted. "We have had a lot of tough games, pretty unlucky. We think this is a good start down the right path. We know we can do well and win more games."
"We have worked really hard and we have deserved better results," Stodden stated. "I think this result just makes us stronger. It is a big reason to keep going this season because we know we can still accomplish some things."
NOTES: This was the 15th goal of Van der Veen's career and she also surpassed 40 points … Prior to today, Utah was 0-4-1 in Tempe … The teams had played out a pair of draws in the two previous meetings … Utah is back home on Thursday night at 7 p.m. vs. Washington and you can catch the live stream on UtahUtes.com
"This was a total team victory, with lots of tremendous performances," head coach Rich Manning said. "We showed heart and poise today. The players kept pushing throughout the game, dealing with the extremely warm conditions and a good opponent."
Utah took a lead right before the half as Hailey Stodden picked out Van der Veen with a cross from the right. The Dutch senior volleyed home her team-leading fifth goal of the season, seconds after hitting the crossbar on another attempt. For Stodden, it was the first point of her collegiate career
Final seconds of the half and the Utes get on the board! Po volleys it past the keeper!
— Utah Women's Soccer (@UtahWSoccer) September 30, 2018
1-0 @UtahWSoccer#Relentless ?? pic.twitter.com/Sxp76FJo66
"I started to make my run when I saw we had the ball," Stodden said. "My defender was coming toward me harder than I thought so I cut back. That allowed me the time to get the cross in and Po made a heck of a play."
The Utes added another in the early stages of the second half as Hixson capitalized on some good defensive work by Ireland Dunn. The junior out-muscled her opposition and was able to win the ball on the far right sideline. That created space for Hixson who drifted into a pocket of space before rifling home her first goal of the season.
Jess Hixson puts @UtahWSoccer up a pair!#Relentless ?? pic.twitter.com/Pp1UFWxSCA
— Utah Women's Soccer (@UtahWSoccer) September 30, 2018
"I saw Ireland win the ball and she was running to the end line so I wanted to get in a good space for her to get me the ball," Hixson said. "I dropped off a little, saw the whole goal was open and I aimed at the far post."
Defensively, Carly Nelson made a season-high nine saves, five in the first half, to notch her third shutout of the season and eighth of her career. The Sun Devils created nine corner-kicks and 19 chances but the Utes were able to weather the attack and get the win.
"Scoring the goal right before halftime gave us a huge lift and the team stayed strong through the second half," Manning added. "We were composed with the ball and created several good opportunities. We have been playing well over the last few weeks and were finally rewarded. It is a great feeling for the team."
"It was important to get this one today," Hixson noted. "We have had a lot of tough games, pretty unlucky. We think this is a good start down the right path. We know we can do well and win more games."
"We have worked really hard and we have deserved better results," Stodden stated. "I think this result just makes us stronger. It is a big reason to keep going this season because we know we can still accomplish some things."
NOTES: This was the 15th goal of Van der Veen's career and she also surpassed 40 points … Prior to today, Utah was 0-4-1 in Tempe … The teams had played out a pair of draws in the two previous meetings … Utah is back home on Thursday night at 7 p.m. vs. Washington and you can catch the live stream on UtahUtes.com
Team Stats
UTAH
ASU
Goals
2
0
Shots
11
19
Shots on Goal
4
9
Saves
9
2
Corners
3
9
Fouls
2
11
Scoring Plays
VAN DER VEEN, Paola
Assisted By: STODDEN, Hailey
GOAL by UTAH VAN DER VEEN, Paola (FIRST GOAL), Assist by STODDEN, Hailey.
44:47
HIXSON, Jessica
Assisted By: DUNN, Ireland
GOAL by UTAH HIXSON, Jessica, Assist by DUNN, Ireland.
54:16
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ SoccerMidfielder/Forward
/ Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ SoccerDefender
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