Nevada Soccer falls 2-1 at Utah State

LOGAN, Utah (Nevada Athletics) - Utah State used two second half goals to defeat Nevada soccer 2-1 Sunday afternoon.

Sophomore forward Eva Wees scored her first goal of the season and her first score since Aug. 18, 2022.

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Emily McCue came up with eight saves in her first match since Sept. 28 after coming back from a shoulder injury.

Nevada was unfazed by Utah State’s early offensive attack, with the Pack forcing three of the Aggies’ first five shots to go off target.

After not allowing Utah State to have an offensive chance for a 10-minute stretch, McCue collected a pair of saves to keep things scoreless with 20 minutes left in the first half.

The Pack looked to take advantage off a pair of corner kicks in the closing minutes in the first half, but the Utah State defense prevented an offensive attack out of the set pieces.

McCue recorded seven of her eight saves in the first half to keep things at a scoreless draw going into the locker room.

Utah State ended the scoring drought in the 48th minute with a goal scored by Tess Werts to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead.

Nevada, however, answered the bell just six minutes after the first score of the match. Wees, who came off the bench and started in the second half, capitalized off Nevada’s first shot opportunity of the second half.

The Chula Vista, California, native retrieved the loose ball inside the penalty area and drained it in the back of the net to tie the match. Following a back-and-forth battle, Utah State scored the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute to move ahead with just 19 minutes left.

The Pack were held to just one more shot opportunity during that stretch, with the shot going off target to give Utah State the victory.

Nevada, who still sits in fifth place in the Mountain West standings, continues its quest to finish in the top six and clinch a bid to its first conference tournament since 2013.

The Pack wraps up the regular season Thursday at Mackay Stadium against UNLV at 7 p.m. in the Silver State Series presented by America First Credit Union and Senior Night.

Fans are encouraged to come early to honor Nevada’s seven seniors in a pre-game ceremony. Tickets start at just $7 online and can be purchased here.

Notes

Sophomore forward Eva Wees came off the bench to score her first goal of the season in the 54th minute. It was her second career goal and first goal since Aug. 18, 2022
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Emily McCue recorded eight saves in her first match since Sept. 28 after recovering from a shoulder injury.
Nevada is still in fifth place in the Mountain West standings with 13 points. The top six teams qualify for the Mountain West Tournament. It would be Nevada’s first bid to the conference tournament since 2013.