Weber State University’s women’s soccer team had their first victory of the season Sept. 4, beating the UC Riverside Highlanders 2–1 in Riverside.

The Wildcats came out strong in the first half, playing lock-down defense and shutting the Highlanders out.

During their defensive stretch, Samantha Kearns scored the first goal for the Wildcats, the goal was assisted by Morgan Furmaniak and Grace Kirby.

Throughout the half, there was a lot of back-and-forth. Looking for an answer, Wildcats forward/ midfielder Gentry Gibson later scored the next goal for Weber State, making it 2–0 going into halftime.

“You can tell we were there for each other,” Olivia Tucker said. “All around, even the people on the sideline, we were all encouraging each other, and it was just communication in all aspects you would want on the field.”

Weber State had four fouls, and UC Riverside had nine fouls ending the first half. The defensive energy continued in the second half, with more fouls being committed.

The Highlanders scored early going into the second half after a goal from forward Leyna Wood upped the score 2–1. For the rest of the game, both teams played lock-down defense, with no one scoring with the remaining time left.

In the second half, Weber State committed eight fouls while UC Riverside committed six. Each team combined for five saves, with one from the Wildcats and the rest from the highlanders. There were a total of three yellow cards throughout the game.

“It was a good win, and it was good to score some goals in progress in the right direction,” Yira Yoggerst said.

So far this season, the Wildcats have had 12 goals scored on them throughout a five-game stretch, with their record now being 1–4.

The Wildcats play their next game on Sept. 8 against the University of the Pacific, where they hope to continue the momentum from their first win.