ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – San Diego State women's soccer fell to Wyoming on Wednesday, 1-0 in the Mountain West Tournament semifinal. The Aztecs (7-6-8) had 20 shots on Wednesday afternoon but could not find the back of the net.
The match started off with end-to-end action, but it was the Cowgirls (8-6-5) who struck first. In the eighth minute Wyoming's Faith Joiner played Maddie Chance through on goal. Her shot hit off the leg of Kiera Utush, and the ball ricocheted into the net to give Wyoming a 1-0 lead.
The match continued to start and stop throughout the remainder of the first half, as the two teams combined for 12 fouls in the first half alone, and 27 fouls in the entirety of the match. After Wyoming's opening goal, neither team would trouble the opposing keeper for the remainder of the first half, and Wyoming took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
The second half was a different story, San Diego State came out firing and had 14 shots in total for the second half. However, it was Wyoming who had the best chance early in the half to double their lead. In the 50th minute Rachelle Elve was called into action off a Wyoming corner. After the ball was headed across goal, a Wyoming attacker got on the end of it, but Elve cleared the ball off the line and kept the within a goal.
It was all Aztecs from there for the final 40 minutes. San Diego State forced a good save in the 54th minute when Denise Castro played a ball across the box that Emma Gaines-Ramos got on the end of. Her ensuing shot was saved by the Wyoming keeper and the Cowgirls held on to their 1-0 lead.
Things would get even more tense in the 73rd minute. After Elve was elbowed, a red card was shown to Brook Taylor of Wyoming, and the Aztecs immediately turned up the pressure. In the 74th minute Carlin Blake found some space in the box, but her shot was saved by the Wyoming keeper, who had six saves on the day.
San Diego State would try to equalize and rattled off eight shots in the final 15 minutes, but none were able to find the back of the net and the Aztecs fell 1-0 in the Mountain West Tournament semifinal.
-SDSU-
Aztecs Fall to Wyoming 1-0 in MW Semifinals
