| OCR Text |
Show -.THE Monday, September 24, 2007 DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 8 DICOU THINKS THE UTES ARE LOOKING A LITTLE BIPOLAR LATELY continued from Page 7 It's strange how seamlessly the Utes transition from brilliance to incompetence. In a fluid motion, they moved back to square one. Within an eight-day span, the Utes celebrated one of their greatest triumphs ever and one of their most humiliating defeats of the past decade. Perhaps hypnosis or psychotherapy would help stabilize the Utes and restore some of the confidence that was discarded along the Strip, like one of the countless forgotten coupons for porn that gather in the gutters. If the Utah football team were a person, it would be Britney Spears-from everyone's favorite pop star to a basket case unfit to raise her children; r edeemed in one moment, condemned in the next. Somebody help the Utes. They are not well right now. n.dicou@ chronicle.utah.edu THIS HOMECOMING OUR TEAMS STACKED! Ute soccer survives rain, then Washington Huskies Natalie Dicou STAFF WRITER The U women's soccer team battled an unrelenting downpour and the Washington Huskies on Saturday night, overcoming both obstacles in a come-from-behind 3-2 win. The Utes (5-2-1) gave up an early goal in the nth minute when Washington defender Nikki Murray buried a shot into the upper left corner after the ball skipped through traffic on a corner kick. Trailing 2-0 in the second half, the Utes finally came alive at the one-hour mark. Katy Reineke, Utah's free kick specialist, did what she does best in the 62nd minute when she blasted a free kick into the upper right corner from 25 yards out. It was a rare chance for the Utes to attack the goal, and Reineke took advantage. "At this level, she's our David Beckham," coach Rich Manning said of the junior. The goal sparked a momentum shift. Three minutes later, Reineke scored the equalizer for the Utes after Lauren Hair crossed the ball into Adcle Letro, who found Reineke in front of the goal. It was the first time in Reineke's three-year college career that she scored more than one goal in a match. "There have been teams I've been on in the past that would've given up after being down 2-0, but we didn't give up," Reineke said. The Utes seized the advantage in the 82nd minute when Letro booted the ball past Washington's keeper. The assist, of course, came from Reineke. "In a way, it was her night," Manning said. While it's impressive that the Utes were able to surge back when faced with a multiple-goal deficit, Manning would rather his team didn't put itself in that situation in the first place. "(Washington) came out with much better effort and intensity," Manning said. "Tonight, our energy and commitment to the game was not at the level we need." Weather conditions were miserable throughout the night. The rain probably caused more problems for the Utes than for the Seattle-based Huskies, although it's doubtful that either side enjoyed being soaked to the bone before five minutes had ticked off the clock. At one point, Washington keeper Taylor Carr tried bouncing the ball before punting. It landed with a heavy plop on the soaked grass and Carr had to bend over to pick it up. "The ball was so slick in the first half, every time I touched the ball, it slipped off my feet," Reineke said. If there was an upside to the weather woes, it's that the Utes now know who their true fans are. Huddled under umbrellas and shivering beneath blankets, die-hard fans rooted the Utes on to a fourth straight win. The Utes head back onto the road next weekend when they face Pepperdine on Fri., Sept. 28. n.dicou@chronicle.utah.edu Don't miss this tasty addition to Homecoming; the Pancake Breakfast, Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon. All students, faculty, and staff are invited to dig into the FREE breakfast on the Union Plaza. This delectable event is sponsored by the School Spirit Committee. Homecoming Pancake Breakfast Union Plaza Wednesday, Sept. 26 9 a.m. to Noon FREE! U UTE MISTAKES AMOUNT TO A SHUTOUT LOSS continued from Page 7 quarter, but they couldn't connect on fourth down and had to turn the ball over on downs once again. Defensively, the Utes showed the same porous run defense that led them to their previous two losses. UNLV running back Frank "The Tank" Summers punished Utah to the tune of 190 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a 29-yard score late in the third quarter that all but sealed the deal for the Rebels. "He's a great runner," Utah linebacker Stevenson Sylvester said. "Obviously, we REBELS, UTES EXPERIENCE ROLE REVERSAL didn't game plan that well on (Summers), so we just have to watch more film. We've got to do some tackling drills or something to get better." Sylvester was one of the few bright spots for the Utes as he finished the game with 14 tackles. His performance, which included two tackles for lost yardage, was not enough to stop UNLV's resurgent offense. Utah cornerbacks Brice McCain and Sean Smith both had interceptions, but neither turnover amounted to much in the losing effort. "I can't even explain it right now," Sylvester said. "Our game plan was ineffective and we didn't execute." This loss to the Rebels is especially tough for the Utes as it comes on the heels of the shocking upset of UCLA at Rice-Eccles Stadium a week shutout since 1993. "This is the best win of my coaching career, my short coaching career," Sanford said. "Everyone on this football team was not born when the last one happened. We continued from Page 7 beat them this year, and that is proved to be. He did a nice job a big thing. That is a big step for this football program." against us." Despite the dazzling perforAs big as the step forward mance, Summers' game was was for UNLV, the step in the not good enough to earn the opposite direction was even game ball from his coach. That more drastic for Whittingham award was bestowed upon the and his Utes. UNLV defense, which manUtah's win over UCLA on aged to hand Utah its first Sept. 15 was one of the best and ago. "We've got to keep working, keep searching and find what the hot buttons for this football team are," Whittingham said. "Because last week, we were a different football team than you saw tonight." Notes: The Utes suffered yet another injury on Saturday night. Free safety Robert Johnson went down in the first quarter with a dislocated shoulder and will be out for an undetermined amount of time...UNLV tailback David Peeples, who left the game on a stretcher, was listed in good condition after a series of tests came back negative for serous brain, neck and head trauma. His injury was diagnosed as a serious concussion. c.brunner@ chronicle.utah.edu most complete wins in team history. To follow that week up with a loss to a team that hadn't beat the Utes in nearly three decades was obviously frustrating for Utah. To not score a single point when the Utes have averaged more than 43 during the past n contests in the series is bewildering. "We went to playing very well in all three phases last week to playing poorly in all three phases this week," Whittingham said. "It's perplexing, and it's my job to figure it out—bottom line." For Sanford, the only two things he needs to figure out this week is how to help his team deal with success and possibly how to remove sports-drink stains from his Dockers. t.pizza@ chronicle.utah.edu LOSS DEFLATES QUARTERBACK'S RETURN continued from Page 7 UNLV's tendency to load the secondary with defenders grew more and more prevalent. And try as he might, Brian Johnson threw more than a couple of passes that could have easily been intercepted because of his lack of velocity. To Utah's credit, the team threw everything it had at UNLV. On Saturday, it turned out to be not enough. t.pizza@ chronicle.utah.edu The Chronicle is looking for sports * writers! T For more info, contact Tony at t.pizza@chronide.utah.edu |
