On Sunday, the Weber State soccer team fought hard to come away with a 2-1 overtime victory against Wyoming.

“I am proud of the girls and the way they played today,” coach Tim Crompton said of the game. “We played a really tough team today, and the girls really showed just how tough they are.”

The game-winning goal came within the first minute of overtime from junior forward Mackenzie Harrison, who netted the ball in after a pass from junior forward Stacy Bair. Harrison had been playing the entire game and even recorded an assist earlier in the match

(Source: Weber State Athletics)

This wasn’t the first time that Wyoming suffered defeat by the hands of Harrison. During a match in the previous season, the Wildcats played in Laramie and Harrison scored not one, but two goals (including the winner in the 88th minute) in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory.

“We wanted to come out hard in the overtime and finish it off,” said Harrison of the team’s game time performance. “It was a great build up from the team and luckily I was in the position to finish it off.”

The Cowgirls opened up the match by scoring in the 15th minute, when Candace Scieberras scored from 15 yards out in a one-on-one situation between her and junior goal keeper Danielle MacKay.

Senior midfielder Mackenzie Peck performed for the Wildcats in the 42nd minute, when she received a well-placed cross from Harrison and netted the ball out of reach of the goalkeeper from 10 yards out.

This game also took a toll on some players. Due to injuries, some minor and some more severe, the Wildcats were left short in substitution and roster space. Many of the girls who don’t normally play for so long were asked to step up and play for longer amounts of time than normal.

“We are hurting a bit right now with the injured players we have,” Crompton said. “I really commend the girls and appreciate how smart they are playing, knowing that there are fewer people available to substitute in. Anytime you have to go past regulation, it causes more stress and fatigue than what is normally asked, and those who were healthy rose to that occasion and performed well.”

The Wildcats will travel from home for the first time this weekend, and will be focusing this week’s practice on helping players to mend and helping those that are healthy to stay that way.

“We have a bit of time here before we go out on this road trip,” Crompton said. “We are playing two good teams and we will spend the time getting players healthy and keeping those that are healthy in good condition.”

With the recent home stand, the Wildcats are now 2-1-0 on the season, and will travel to take on Colorado College on Friday in Colorado Springs and then meet New Mexico in a neutral field match up on Sunday afternoon.

The team will return home to face Hawaii on Sept. 12, and then face UTEP at home on the Sept. 14. Both games are open to both the student body and the general public. All are invited to come out and support the Wildcats as they play to defend their conference title.

Charles can be found on Twitter @cbowkstar_91 or cheering his heart out at any Wildcat sporting event.