Sept. 27, 2015
LOGAN, Utah -
San Diego State-Utah State Final Box
San Diego State received single goals from Leah Pruitt and Morgan Darling to help lift the Aztecs to a 2-0 victory at Utah State Sunday afternoon. With the win, SDSU moves to 5-4 on the season and 1-1 in league play. The Aggies, meanwhile, fall to 5-5-1 overall and 0-2 in the Mountain West.
The Aztecs took a lead they would not relinquish in the 56th minute. After attacking from the right side of the pitch and coming up empty, Utah State cleared the ball setting up a Hailey Balma throw in from the left. The sophomore, who was making her second consecutive start, tossed the ball to Pruitt, who pivoted around her defender and touched it a few times before blasting it into the lower right corner of the net from 18 yards out. The goal was Pruitt's third of the year.
After 20 minutes of scoreless action, San Diego State tacked on an insurance goal when Jen Rupey fed Darling, who took the pass to the middle of the field and fired a shot from 21 yards away. The attempt, which was just out of the reach of a leaping Jeannie Woller, banked off the crossbar and over the goal line for Darling's first goal of the campaign. The assist was Rupey's first of 2015.
SDSU kept the Aggies off the scoreboard for the remaining 14 minutes much like it did for the entire first half. In the opening 20 minutes, the Aztecs outshot Utah State, 5-3, but each team was unsuccessful in finding the back of the net.
At the final horn, San Diego State had attempted 17 shots, with eight coming on net, and two corner kicks. Utah State, meanwhile, had 12 shots (five on target) and three corner kicks.
Individually, Pruitt finished with a game-high seven shots, including a game-high tying two on goal. Darling also had two shots on goal as did USU's Katie Flynn. Goalkeeper Melanie Vaughn made five saves and posted her third complete shutout of the season.
The Aztecs, who have spent the last two weekends on the road, finally come home on Friday, Oct. 2, to play host to UNLV. The conference match-up is set for a 7 p.m. PT start at SDSU Sports Deck and features free admission. The game will also stream live at GoAztecs.com via the Mountain West Network.