Behind three different goal scorers the Seattle University women's soccer team earned a 3-1 victory over Utah State University Sunday afternoon at Championship Field. With the three-goal win over the Aggies, the Redhawks remain perfect at home this season and improve to 5-5 on the season.
Forward Kara Kuttler had a hand in two of the three SU goals scored. She took a Seattle corner kick at the 57:25 minute mark. The Redhawks flooded the USU box and Alicia Malstrom landed a shot on that was saved by an Aggie defender. Junior Nance Hill followed through and slammed in a shot that bounced off the post. With several defenders trying to kick the ball out of the box, senior M'ily Reiter was able to make solid contact on Hill's deflected shot to score the game-winning goal and take a 2-0 lead. It was Reiter's first goal of the season.
After Reiter's go ahead goal, Utah State immediately responded. Stefani Shiozaki got the ball and passed it off to Lauren Hansen as she ran onto it in the Seattle half. Hansen beat the SU defense and was successful in a one-on-one challenge with goalkeeper Madison Goverde.
With Seattle only up by one goal, Taylor Fannin and Chelsea Jennings came into the midfield off the bench. The Redhawks got the ball deep into the Aggie end and worked it toward the box. Fannin was able to maneuver around double coverage and cross it to Jennings. Freshman Jennings headed the ball into the net for her first career goal and to solidify the SeattleU victory.
Junior Kuttler, who has scored in the last two contests, had another standout game. She tallied four shots in the game, three of which were on goal. The Redmond, Wash. opened up the Seattle offensive attack in the first half when she scored an unassisted goal from 15 yards out at the 25:03 minute mark.
SU saw contributions throughout the lineup, as they outshot USU 18-11, with nine shots on goal to the Aggies' six. On the defensive end of the field, sophomore Jordan Salisbury made several clutch stops to prevent Utah State from ever being able to get a goal advantage. The Redhawk central defender often ended up being SU's last line of defense and was consistently successful in cutting off the Aggie striker's runs into the Seattle box. Between the posts, Goverde had four saves on the day to bring her season total to 50.
"We wanted to come out and earn a victory at home," said head coach Julie Woodward. "In addition, our goal was to dominate both offensively and defensively, which I think we did."
SeattleU returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 22, when they travel to Portland State to take on the Vikings in a 7 p.m. contest. The Redhawks then return home to host the University of San Francisco on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m.