Utes Down Ducks, 2-0

Sunday, October 6

Salt Lake City, Utah

1:00 PM

University of Utah

6-3-3, 1-0-2

Oregon

4-3-4, 0-2-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Oregon	0	0	0
Utah	0	2	2

Photo by: Steve C. Wilson

10/6/2019 4:42 PM | Soccer

Box Score Utah 2 Oregon 0

First goals for Dunn and Mackinnon earn win for Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – Ireland Dunn and Emali Mackinnon scored their first goals of the season and Utah Soccer picked up a crucial 2-0 win over Oregon this afternoon.

"Today was a great team win," head coach Rich Manning said. "We got contributions from a lot of different players and defended well all day. Carly made some saves when called upon and we scored a pair of excellent goals."

Dunn broke the deadlock in the 64^th minute after some nice buildup by her teammates. Tavia Leachman passed it out wide to Aleea Gwerder and the senior defender picked out freshman Kylee Geis. She then left it for Dunn, who dribbled to her right and fired a shot into the far left corner from just outside the penalty area.

"It feels like a curse had been broken," Dunn said. "It is a relief to get that first one. I think the key today was staying compact. When we play as a unit, we are collectively stronger as a team."

"Ireland has been playing well all season," Manning added. "I know it has been wearing on her a bit to not be able to put the ball in the net. You could see the energy soar for her and the team after that moment."

Mackinnon sealed the result, unleashing a laser that caromed off the cross bar in the 76^th minute. The sophomore received a corner kick from Hailey Stodden and cracked home her first collegiate goal.

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— Utah Women's Soccer (@UtahWSoccer) October 6, 2019

"The coaches are always telling us outside backs to get forward and make plays," Mackinnon said. "I just said 'forget this, I am going to take a touch and shoot.' It is a surreal feeling."

"It was really important to get that second goal," Dunn added. "The last couple games with a one goal lead, we have been a little complacent. When we score a goal, it felt like we were waiting for time to run out. We had to keep going and alleviate the pressure on ourselves."

"We had worked on a couple of corner kicks this week and Emali really got a hold of the ball on that play," Manning said. "It is important to be productive on our set pieces and it was a great moment for her and the team."

The Utah defense got its first clean sheet in Pac-12 play as Carly Nelson made four saves for her seventh shutout of the season.

Oregon created a few chances early but never troubled Nelson as she made just one save in the first stanza. Utah had a handful of opportunities in the first 45 minutes as Mackinnon and Holly Daugirda both registered a pair of shots.

Utah dominated proceedings in the buildup to Dunn's goal and both Anna Escobedo and Courtney Talbot forced saves before Mackinnon's tally. Nelson made three of her saves in the final 10 minutes as Oregon frantically pushed forward for a goal.

Utah is back in action on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT when it travels to play No. 5 USC on Pac-12 Networks