The Wildcat Soccer team improved to 3-1 in Big Sky Conference play with a win over Northern Arizona University on Sept. 30. This win was Weber State University’s second in a row at home.
“I thought the girls really focused on the process well today,” head coach Tim Crompton said. “They really battled for the little parts of the game.”
The match started with Northern Arizona pushing the ball into Wildcat territory consistently over the first few minutes of gameplay.
The Wildcat defense stood strong through those opening attacks and took advantage of the opportunities they did have.
The first goal of the match came just over nine minutes in as Weber moved aggressively down the field. A penalty inside the NAU penalty box led to sophomore forward Morgan Quarnberg scoring a goal in the bottom left of the net, out of the reach of the Lumberjack keeper.
That goal led to the Wildcat offense keeping a lot of pressure on the ball over the first half, and they capitalized again nearly 22 minutes into the game.
A deep crossing corner kick was put in the net by senior forward Lana Willard, increasing Weber’s lead 2-0.
Northern Arizona kept pounding away throughout the first half taking seven shots — three of those on goal.
NAU was unable to capitalize on any of those shots, and WSU led at the half.
“We came out, and we put them away,” junior goalkeeper Sydnie Brough said. “We worked a lot better together today than we have been in previous games at keeping possession of the ball.”
The second half didn’t take long to get going as freshman forward Paige Stevens scored in less than three minutes into the half.
“That third goal had good buildup,” Crompton said. “They made good choices and had good movement off the ball — we were really clinical about how we finished it.
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks refused to go home empty handed — with less than four minutes left in the game, senior forward Lindsay Doyle moved down the middle of the field and scored on a breakaway goal, ending the possibility of a shutout for the Wildcats.
The Lumberjacks completed the game with 14 shots, five of those on goal.
Weber State had 12 shots, seven of those on goal.
Both goalkeepers racked up four saves apiece, and Weber had nine fouls to NAU’s seven.
“We’re going to keep going forward,” Brough said. “We’re going to keep getting better each game and building on what we’re doing right.”
The Wildcats are now 2-1 in Big Sky Conference play and 4-5-1 overall after the win over NAU.
The Wildcats will hit the road for the next three games, taking on Southern Utah in Cedar City on Oct. 2, Montana in Missoula on Oct. 7, and Eastern Washington in Cheney on Oct. 9.
