LOGAN, Utah – The Brock Thompson era of Jackrabbit soccer began Friday at Utah State, with South Dakota State dropping a 1-0 double-overtime game at Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field.
SDSU (0-1) fired eight shots on the day with Kyli Nelson, Kelsi Wipf and Leah Manuleleua putting the ball on goal. Manuleleua led the team with three total attempts.
In net, Maggie Smither earned the start and came up with five saves, allowing one goal.
Aggressive early on, SDSU pushed the tempo with a shot from Manuleleua in the opening minute, a pair of corner-kick opportunities before the 8-minute mark and in the 11th, Bianca Madonia launched a shot that hit the cross bar.
Utah State withstood the onslaught though, and played evened the rest of the half as the Aggies used numerous counter assaults to slow the Jackrabbit attack. The final shot of the half came at 25:36, when the Jacks found themselves with a scoring chance inside in the box, only to have Manuleleua's second effort of the day go wide by mere inches.
The second frame was a flurry of momentum swings as both teams used set pieces, counter attacks and crisp ball movement to pressure the scoreboard. A batch of tough luck and strong defense for both squads, however, kept things scoreless through regulation.
Nelson and Wipf each recorded shots on goal in the half, as Nelson's shot from the top of the key was saved at 46:54 and Wipf had an effort from 30 yards out stopped as regulation ended. Between the two attempts, Darien Poelstra had another SDSU shot that ricocheted off the cross bar.
Smither spoiled an Aggies scoring threat in the 64th minute when she came through in the clutch, tracking a shot from the top of the box through a mess of competitors to make the diving save.
Scoreless through regulation, SDSU again set the pace, forcing a corner kick in the 91st minute, though it was the Aggies who had the only shot of the period.
Utah State switched the momentum in the second overtime, earning an early corner kick of its own. The Jackrabbit defense held off the initial scoring chance from the set piece, but the Aggies found the game-winner when Ashley Cardozo gathered the ball near the upper-right corner of the box and snuck a shot into the far side of the net at 101:30.
Game Notes
South Dakota State is now 5-11-2 all-time in season openers. ... SDSU is 17-16-38 in games that go to overtime. In double overtime matches, the Jackrabbits are 10-7-38. ... Leah Manuleleua, Marisa Schulz, Katie Zabel, Eleanor Dick and Molly Ballinger made their Jackrabbit debuts.
