Aggies and Bengals Battle to Scoreless Draw Sunday

POCATELLO, Idaho – For the third time in the last four meetings, Utah State soccer and Idaho State needed more than 90 minutes to decide the outcome. On Sunday, it took 110 minutes for the Aggies and the Bengals to fight to a 0-0 double overtime tie at Davis Field in Pocatello. In 2007, Utah State was the winner with a 1-0 win in extra time in Logan. In 2008, the Bengals defeated the Aggies 2-1 in double overtime in Pocatello. Last season, ISU beat USU 1-0 in regulation in Logan. The Aggies stopped a two-match losing streak against the Bengals. Utah State moves to 2-0-1 this season, while Idaho State is 2-1-1. Defense was key in the first half Sunday with both teams managing only two shots on goal in the first period. Freshman forward Mari Miyashiro and junior forward Shantel Flanary had shots on goal in the first period for USU. Both goalkeepers, Molli Merrill for USU and Bailey Williams for ISU both had two saves in the first 45 minutes. The Aggies threatened early with some solid play by Miyashiro. In the 21st minute, Miyashiro challenged with a 18-yard shot that went straight to Williams.Idaho State out-shot Utah State 7-4 in the first half. In the 37th minute, sophomore defender Natalie Norris almost netted her third goal of the season off a header when her shot off her head came off a Stefani Shiozaki corner kick and went just wide of the goal. The Aggie offense came on strong in the second half with shots on goal by Miyashiro and junior defender Marissa Sanchez. Miyashiro was at it again with four minutes remaining in the second half, challenging Williams with her second shot on goal. As time expired in regulation, Utah State senior forward Lauren Hansen headed a ball just over the net to send the match into overtime. It is the first overtime match of the season for the Aggies. At the end of the second half, USU out-shot ISU 15-9. The Aggies also had seven corner kicks to the Bengals six. Utah State had six corner kicks in the second half alone. With less than two minutes remaining, ISU’s Rachel Strawn launched a ball that hit the cross bar to keep the match scoreless. In the sixth minute of the second overtime period, Flanary hit the cross bar on a direct kick after a Bengal foul from just outside the 18-yard box. The Aggies were once again denied with a great save by Williams with less than four minutes remaining in the second overtime off a shot by Hansen. For the match, Utah State out-shot Idaho State, 17-13. The Bengals ended the match with 10 corner kicks to the Aggies seven. Merrill ended the match with two saves, while Williams had nine. Utah State continues its road trip heading to the Golden State for the first of six matches in California. USU will take on Long Beach State on Friday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. and San Diego State on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 2 p.m. Fans can follow USU soccer at http://twitter.com/USUsoccer and Utah State athletics at http://twitter.com/USUAthletics. Shots by period 1 2 OT O2 TotalUtah State 4 11 0 2 17Idaho State 7 2 3 1 13Corner kicks 1 2 OT O2 TotalUtah State 1 6 0 0 7Idaho State 1 5 1 3 10Saves by period 1 2 OT O2 TotalUtah State 2 0 0 0 2Idaho State 2 6 0 1 9Fouls 1 2 OT O2 TotalUtah State 3 7 2 2 14Idaho State 3 3 1 2 9

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!