With their second win in a row, the University of Utah soccer team defeated the University of Washington.
This was the second Pac-12 win for the Utes and their fifth of the season. Utah is now 2-2 in conference play.
“This is a big step for us,” said freshman forward Makayla Christensen. “We have been close and this shows that we are continuing to work hard. We deserved this one tonight.”
Utah walked away with the 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Ireland Dunn and Christensen.
Although Washington controlled the ball for most of the game, Utah capitalized when it was important and it paid off.
Utah’s first goal came in the first half following a corner kick. The ball, which went into the penalty box, got away from Washington goaltender Sienna Ruelas and gave Dunn the opportunity to put the ball in the net. This was Dunn’s third goal of the season.
The second half of the play brought Utah their second goal. In the 63rd minute, Lulu Borges sent a ball up from downfield and Christensen rifled it into the left side of the goal for a point.
“We were only getting a few opportunities tonight so I saw it take a couple bounces and I knew I had to be quick with the shot,” said Christensen to Utah Athletics. “I hit it the first time in the upper right corner. It was awesome.”
Washington still applied plenty of pressure to the Utes, and they were shooting on Nelson from the first minutes of the game until the end of the 90th minute.
However, goalkeeper Carly Nelson stayed strong in the goal and earned yet another shutout for the season. This was her fourth shutout for the season and her ninth in her career here at Utah.
“Carly [Nelson] was fantastic tonight in goal,” said head coach Rich Manning to Utah Athletics. “The team in front of her battled all the way.”
Utah is now 6-6 against Washington, and they are 4-2 at home. This was their second win in a row against the Huskies and their first Pac-12 home win since the end of the 2016 season.
The next game for the Utes will be on Sunday, Oct. 7 against No. 7 Washington State in Salt Lake City at Ute Field.
c.overfield@dailyutahchronicle.com
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