Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Montana
Wildcat soccer tops Montana in Big Sky opener
9/27/2013 1:47:00 AM | Women's Soccer
OGDEN, Utah – The Wildcats put their best foot forward on Thursday afternoon.
With goals from sophomore forward Mackenzie Harrison and sophomore outside defender Shaylee Petersen, the Weber State University women's soccer team opened up its Big Sky Conference season with a 2-0 victory over Montana at Wildcat Soccer Field.
“I thought we came out and set the tone for the conference season,” Harrison said. “We dictated the pace of the game.”
Weber State, which improved to 1-0-0 in Big Sky play and 5-2-2 overall, outshot Montana 22-12 in claiming its league opener for the second straight year.
“I was happy with how the girls came out and knocked the ball around this afternoon,” Weber State coach Tim Crompton said. “We created a number of good chances for ourselves, and recovered well on defense.
“We will put this one behind us now and get ready for Eastern Washington.”
Thursday's match nearly got off on the wrong foot for the Wildcats as Montana's Mackenzie Akins broke free into a 1-v-1 with Weber State goalkeeper Ryann Waldman, but the senior netminder made a solid play to get the ball out of danger.
The Wildcats recorded their first shot of the game in the 13th minute and seized control of the match, out shooting the Grizzlies (0-1-0 BSC, 3-4-3 overall) 15-4 in the opening frame.
Weber State put a shot off the post and another off the crossbar before Harrison latched onto the ball during a scramble in front of the goal and punched it into the back of the net.
“We have been working on crashing the goal this past couple of weeks and that's exactly what happened,” Harrison said. “We had three or four people following up my first shot and I just luckily hit the one that went in. It was definitely a team effort and a great win to start conference.”
The two teams traded shots early in the second half, but the Wildcats iced the win in the 71st minute when Petersen dribbled through traffic and unleashed a 35-yard blast across the box that sailed into the upper 90 of the far post to make it a 2-0 lead and the Weber State defense allowed just two shots the rest of the way.
Waldman's shutout was her third of the season and the 15th of her career, dropping her Goals-Against Average to 1.05. It was Weber State's fourth shutout of the year.
The Wildcats' win also leveled the long-time series with the Grizzlies at 11-11-2.
Weber State will be back in action on Saturday at Noon against Eastern Washington. The Eagles fell 1-0 to Idaho State in their Big Sky opener on Thursday and are 0-1-0 in league play, 2-8-0 overall.
