Dixie State University women’s soccer recorded two shutout victories while the men took a draw and a close loss over the weekend.
DSU soccer season is almost over as both teams played two of their final three home games Thursday and Saturday. Both played against Dominican University of California and Academy of Art.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s team improved to 7-4 in Pacific West Conference play after its 3-0 victory Saturday against Academy of Art. DSU has an overall record of 9-7-1 with one game remaining this season.
Freshman midfielder Alexis Torres scored her first goal of the season, while senior forward Jennifer Mason added her conference-leawding 11th goal.
DSU controlled most of the game, outshooting its opponent 25-4 and providing many opportunities, with 10 corner kicks compared to two.
The Red Storm jumped out front in the 15th minute when freshman midfielder Darian McCloy found the back of the net and set the way for DSU to finish the job. Torres was able to put DSU up 2-0 right before the half.
“The key to getting the shutouts this weekend was tight and high pressure,” said forward Aubri Detmer, a sophomore nursing major from Austin, Texas. “When we play fast and aggressive, teams struggle to possess the ball. It makes a big difference on defense.”
DSU saw another first-time scorer in sophomore forward Alissa Moffat during Thursday’s 1-0 win over Dominican University of California. The goal came in the 30th minute, and the team held on with strong defense to gain the shutout.
The finale for the season will be Saturday against Fresno Pacific University at 12:30 p.m.
Men’s Soccer
Men’s soccer played two close matches but ended up without a victory in both. The team was frustrated as it had high expectations for both games, head coach Danny Ortiz said.
DSU could not overcome a 2-0 deficit that came quickly in the 15th minute against Academy of Art. Another goal was scored by the Academy in the 40th minute. Sophomore midfielder Sean Jenne responded for DSU with a goal right before the end of the first half.
DSU was outshot 7-4 in the first half but responded by creating chances in the second half. It outshot the Academy 8-3 in the second half but was unable to find the back of the net.
“We are a lot better than our record shows,” Ortiz said. “[The players] are willing to continue to go out there and play hard for every single minute. I think it definitely shows the kind of character they have.”
With the loss, DSU drops to 1-12-2 on the season with one home game remaining. Goals have always been the thing lacking this season said Ortiz.
“There is not a whole lot you can change,” Ortiz said. “The guys keep working hard and we will continue to work hard to the next year.”
The Storm showed resilience after going down 2-1 in the match Thursday against Dominican. Junior midfielder Santiago Alejandro brought the game to a tie on an 80th minute pass from sophomore midfielder Ethan VandenBosch.
DSU had 23 shots compared to Dominican’s ten, but could not find the net again in either of the overtime periods. The match ended in a 2-2 draw, the second of the season for the Storm.
Next Saturday is the last game of the season for DSU and the last chance to earn a victory for many seniors.
“You always want to do the best you can for the guys who have done so much for the program,” said Ortiz. “We have seniors that have been here for four years, and it’s something the team really wants to do for them.”
