Coyote soccer splits opening weekend against Idaho State, Utah State
USD soccer opened their schedule with a win against Idaho State 2-0 before falling to Utah State 1-0 over the weekend.
USD vs. Idaho State
The Coyotes hosted the Idaho State Bengals at First Bank and Trust Soccer Complex in Vermillion to begin the year Friday.
Senior midfielder Amanda Carpio started the season off with a bang, finding the back of the net 24 seconds into the first half for one of the fastest goals in program history. Senior forward Kellee Willer found junior forward Madison Sullivan in the corner who crossed the ball to Carpio in the box. Both players earned assists on the play, according to GoYotes.
“It’s really fun in the moment,” head coach Michael Thomas said. “We were obviously excited, but we had to keep our heads about us.”
Sullivan later added a goal to her assist, scoring the dagger 12 minutes into the second half. After stealing possession near the opponent’s goal, she slotted the ball past the Bengal goalkeeper for the fourth goal of her career.
Redshirt sophomore goalie Emma Harkleroad saved all four of the Bengal’s shots on target to earn the shutout in her first career start for USD.
“Emma’s been here for two years and has picked up a lot of experiences,” Thomas said. “It’s fun to see her go out on the field and reap the rewards of those experiences.”
USD vs. Utah State
Sunday, a first-half goal by Utah State proved to be the difference in a 1-0 match between USD and the Aggies in Vermillion.
In the 38th minute, j
USD did not let up even late in the second half, but multiple offensive pressures didn’t result in a goal for the Coyotes, including an athletic save by Aggies goalkeeper Diera Walton on a shot by sophomore Taylor Cotter with three minutes to go.
“Our goal for the second half was to bring up our energy,” Cotter said. “It’s kind of like we hit a bit of adversity and those last 15 minutes we really pushed to get that one opportunity.”
The Coyotes will make a road trip to Chicago over Labor Day weekend to play Loyola-Chicago on Friday and University of Illinois at Chicago on Sunday. Coming off a nine-win season last fall, the Coyotes look to return to the win column and gain momentum playing a full 90-minute game at a high level, Thomas said.
“We have to play a 90-minute game. I thought we came out and played well early and I thought we finished really strong especially in the first half. We failed to maintain our energy throughout the half,” Thomas said. “When you’re playing soccer at this level that can come back to haunt you and today it did.”
