Oct. 5, 2006

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State soccer wraps up its three-match homestand and the non-conference portion of the schedule Friday when the Aggies face in-state foe Utah Valley State at 3 p.m. at Chuck & Gloria Bell Soccer Field in USU's final tune-up before beginning Western Athletic Conference action Sunday.

The Aggies will be going for their third-straight win, as Utah State has posted back-to-back 1-0 shutout wins in the first two matches of the homestand. USU has four 1-0 victories on the year, as well as playing in a total of nine matches decided by one goal, including the last six in a row.

Utah State holds a 2-0 advantage over Utah Valley State, winning 4-0 at Logan in 2004 and 2-1 last year at Orem.

The Aggies have won two in a row and three of their last four matches, and are 5-6 overall, with a chance to improve to .500 for the first time since 2-2 after a loss to Washington State on Sept. 3. Utah State beat San Francisco, 1-0, this past Monday, the same score that the Aggies beat Eastern Washington on Saturday.

With Saturday's win, head coach Heather Cairns became USU's all-time winningest coach in total victories, garnering her 27th and passing Stacy Enos' 26 wins.

Senior forward Charity Weston netted both of the Aggies' goals in their last two matches, giving her 12 goals for her career and moving to No. 4 on USU's career goals list.

Weston is tied with freshman forward Erin Salmon for the team scoring lead with five points apiece, both off two goals and an assist, with Salmon assisting on Weston's goal in Monday's win.

Junior midfielder Dana Peart adds three points on one goal and one assist, one of three Aggies to net a goal apiece. Senior midfielder Sierra Smith netted her first goal of the season and third of her career with a goal in USU's 2-1 loss to Cal State Northridge on Sept. 10, and also assisted on Weston's goal Monday. Junior midfielder Andra Hansen has the Aggies' other goal, while fellow junior midfielder Shannon Ross and sophomore defender Jessie Malaska each tallied their first assist of the season in Saturday's match to become one of eight players with an assist. Weston leads the team with 16 shots, including 10 shots on goal.

Between the pipes for every minute this season for the Aggies, sophomore goalkeeper Ali Griffin has made 46 saves on the year, including a career-high eight in the loss to BYU on Sept. 16, and ranks second in the WAC in saves. Griffin also is second in the league with four shutouts, as well as fourth in save percentage (.807) and fifth in goals against average (0.97).

The Grizzlies of UVSC are 4-7-1 on the year, having lost two in a row and four of the last five matches. In its most recent action, UVSC lost to Eastern Washington, 1-0 in OT, last Thursday and dropped a 2-1 contest to Idaho State.

Senior midfielder Rebecca Peterson leads the Grizzlies with eight points off three goals and two assists, while junior midfielder Chelsea Stone has seven points off three goals and an assist. Sophomore midfielder Megan Berrett and senior midfielder Courtney Robbins have six points apiece, as both have two goals and two assists.

In net, senior Kelley Thompson and junior Tasha Bell have split time, with Thompson seeing action in eight matches for 585 minutes, while Bell has been in seven matches for 495:22. Thompson has made 35 saves, while yielding eight goals, for an .814 save percentage and a 1.23 gaa, while posting 1.0 shutouts. Bell has made 21 saves while allowing nine goals, for a .700 save percentage and a 1.64 gaa, as well as 1.0 shutouts.

Counting the exhibition match on Aug. 19, Utah State has nine home matches this season. The Aggies are 2-1-0 at home so far this season, and are unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 home matches. Overall, Utah State is 17-13-7 at home since moving to the Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field in 2002. In the two years prior to their move to Bell Field, the Aggies were just 6-12 at home. They have gone 8-2-1 against conference opponents since bedding down at Bell Field.

The Aggies kick-off WAC action on Sunday, Oct. 8, traveling to Ruston, La. to tangle with Louisiana Tech. Utah State returns for its conference home-opener on Oct. 13, hosting San Jose State, before heading to Honolulu, Hawai'i to face last season's regular-season conference champion Hawai'i on Oct. 15.

-USU-