The high-powered attack of Utah Valley University women’s soccer (4-2-1, 3-1-0) is too much for UTRGV (4-2-2, 1-2-1) as Vaqueros fall 3-1 at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex Thursday night.
In the 24th minute, Wolverine freshman midfielder Nicole Ray took advantage of a miscommunication in the back line of the Vaqueros and intercepted the ball.
Ray then fired a low shot past UTRGV junior goalkeeper Maile Lunardi to record her first collegiate goal and give Utah Valley the early advantage.
The Wolverines dominated time of possession in the first half as the Vaqueros continued to apply pressure in hopes of a turnover.
UTRGV’s hard work paid off in the closing minutes of the first half as they were awarded with their second corner kick of the match.
The Vaqueros filled the box as freshman defender Libby Beilfuss prepared to put the ball in play.
A high-arching cross from Beilfuss was able to find junior defender Kryssie Rivera as she struck a powerful volley past Utah Valley senior goalkeeper Isabel Jones-Dawe to even the match and record her first career goal in the 42nd minute.
In a postgame news conference via Zoom, UTRGV Head Coach Glad Bugariu expressed his joy for the local Brownsville product on her first goal.
“It was good for Kryssie, she got her first collegiate goal. It was a great strike and hopefully she’ll contribute more goals in the future,” Bugariu said.
In the second half, the Wolverines continued to make the Vaquero backline uncomfortable as they took shots on goal with sophomore forward Anna Pickering and Sadie Brockbank that were ultimately saved by Lunardi.
Lunardi would finish the match with seven saves.
Brockbank would finish the game with four shots on goal but none found the back of the net.
It wasn’t until the 68th minute when Utah Valley broke the deadlock with a goal from senior forward Amber Tripp.
The Wolverines quickly built up their 2-1 lead when in the 77th minute freshman forward London Miller scored a third goal off an assist from Tripp and senior defender Cassidy McCormick.
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Tripp, recorded another three-point night with her second goal and assist of the season.
The rest of the match, the Utah Valley defense vaporized any hope of a UTRGV comeback as they only allowed a junior forward Shentatious Knox shot that missed wide of the goal.
Bugariu talked about how the goal by Tripp affected his team the rest of the match as they looked to even the score for a second time.
“I think when we conceded the second goal, and the manner in which it was conceded, it killed some of our momentum and then we tried to equalize the game and opened ourselves up for the third [goal],” he said.
The Wolverines would have an efficient night shooting as they attempted 11 shots and 10 were on goal compared to the Vaqueros seven and one on goal.
UTRGV suffered their second home loss of the season with the first one coming back on Feb. 22 against defending WAC Champions Seattle U on a late free kick goal.
The Vaqueros will complete the two-game series against the Wolverines 11 a.m Saturday as Bugariu and his coaching staff will return to the drawing board in search of three points.
“Saturday is a new game, we’ll come up with something different and we’ll go back to it,” Bugariu said.
Fans can attend the game as UTRGV will be capping attendance at 150 on a first-come, first-serve basis and follow gameday protocols that include social distancing, face coverings and temperature checks.
To watch Saturday’s match live, visit the WAC Digital Network’s website.
Twitter: @Radio_Rubio
