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Show StatesmanSports Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 Page 9 Women’s tennis dominates USU Open tournament GAME 5: NEW MEXICO STATE 20, USU 17 Brutal By MATT SONNENBERG staff writer 10th-consecutive road loss for Ags By TIM OLSEN sports editor Utah State (1-4) was robbed of a 38-yard touchdown pass on its first possession – the first time this season the Aggies failed to score on their opening drive – and the offense sputtered for the remainder of the game as USU lost its WAC opener at New Mexico State, 20-17. NMSU (3-3) jumped out to a 10-0 lead, largely due to USU mistakes, but the Aggies were able to battle back and tie the game heading into the half. Coming out of the intermission, the Aggies scored again to take their first lead, 17-10, but that was the end of their offensive production. USU sophomore running back Robert Turbin led the Aggies in a big way, rushing for 184 yards on 24 carries, but cramps kept him from gaining a single yard in the vital fourth quarter. Questionable penalties at untimely moments also cost Utah State dearly. The Aggies had three gains of 40 yards or more negated by holding penalties alone. Hammers -continued from page 8 individual. He said the officials made some questionable decisions, but also that USU can continue to show progress in certain disciplinary areas of its game. “Tonight there were a lot of marginal calls,” Wyman said. “But you didn’t see us yelling at the ref or anything like that. So, that’s an improvement. We’re slow learners with that, and it’s cost us earlier this season and last year. But if we can keep improving then it’s going to be a big step forward for our team.” Head coach Jon Eccles said USU needs to learn to play more consistently. “It should have been 10-0,” Eccles said of the game. “We tend to fall into a pattern where we play to their level at times. I thought the guys held their composure and played through it. It’s tough when you play teams that aren’t a CU (Colorado) or CSU (Colorado State), but we’ve got to be able to play at that high intensity every game.” The defensive play caller and goalkeeper, Dan Cornelius, said USU goes through stretches where the team falls apart mentally. He said the team needs to develop mental fortitude. “We do this a lot,” Cornelius said. “We underestimate teams and let them stay in the game until the third period where we actually have to step it up. We need to quit getting down on ourselves. If they get a goal, we need to shake it off and get another goal. The best way to answer is to get another goal. There’s still stuff we need to work on. All we need to do is keep working on being disciplined.” USU will have an opportunity to continue developing its game next Friday when the Boise State Broncos skate onto the rink at the Eccles Ice Center. The puck drops at 7 p.m. – la.hem@aggiemail.usu.edu “Penalties cost us the football game, poor special teams play cost us the football game and not being able to convert on third and one, that’s it,” said USU head coach Gary Andersen. “There were some very tough penalties called tonight. But did that lose the game for us? Absolutely not.” Despite racking up 12 penalties for 128 yards, USU looked to be at least headed to overtime before giving up a huge punt return with less than two minutes to play. NMSU’s Marcus Anderson returned the ball all the way to the USU 29 to set up the southern Aggies’ game-winning field goal. New Mexico State moved the ball down to the Aggies’ 11-yard line before settling for a 28yard field goal attempt with three seconds left. NMSU’s Kyle Hughes remained perfect on the season as he hooked it between the uprights. Junior quarterback Diondre Borel had his worst game since the season opener against Utah, going 15-of-25, for 156 USU DEFENSIVE BACK KEJON Murphy eludes New Mexico State tacklers during last year’s Utah State victory in Logan. FILE photo yards and a touchdown. “They’re a man coverage team, and apparently we had a hard time getting off the man coverage,” Andersen said. “We didn’t throw the ball effectively. We had to throw on a trick play to score a touchdown.” Astoundingly, Utah State outgained NMSU 429-230, but the southern Aggies took advantage of multiple USU special teams mistakes that gave them good field position. Punt returner Josh Flores fumbled the ball during the first quarter, giving the ball to the NMSU near midfield. That drive, along with the long punt return, led to 10 of the Newmags’ 20 points. USU must now regroup for a two-game conference homestand against two of the WAC’s tougher teams. The Aggies host the Nevada Wolfpack next Saturday, and then host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs the following week. “It’s a game we should have won and they used their plan to win and got it done. To say that this is a disappointing football game is probably the biggest understatement that I’ve ever made in my career,” Andersen said. – t.olsen@aggiemail.usu. edu USU women’s tennis defended its home-court with authority this past weekend as it took three of four championships in the USU Open tournament, headlined by Aggies filling five of the six spots in the three separate singles championship rounds. In the flight A bracket of the tournament, USU junior Hailey Swenson blazed her trail to the championship round with straight-set victories over Idaho State’s Rilee Moorhead and Weber State’s Keya Jenkins. USU freshman Jaclyn West met her teammate Swenson in the flight A championship after victories over ISU’s Lisel Lewis and WSU’s Greyce Farias. Swenson defeated her teammate West in straight sets – 6-4, 6-3 – in the flight A championship to give USU it’s first of three tournament championships. Another Aggie freshman made a strong showing in the tournament’s flight B bracket as newcomer Kristina Voytsekhovich advanced to face junior Taylor Perry in another championship matchup of fellow Aggies. Voytsekhovich defeated Perry 6-3, 6-3 to claim the flight B title. “I was pleased to see our freshman get to the finals of the flight A and B,” head coach Christian Wright said. “They played some solid tennis to get in that position. We feel that they will add depth to our team this season.” While two of the team’s four freshman advanced to championship rounds, freshman players Jenny Phillips and Sadi Wilkins both had solid showings in the flight C bracket as they each advanced to the semifinals before they were eliminated. Joining Phillips and Wilkins in the flight C semifinal was the team’s lone senior in Britney Watts, who defeated her teammate Phillips – 61, 6-0 – to advance to the championship round of flight C. In the championship round Watts jumped out to a commanding first set victory, beating Weber State’s Elsje Beneke 6-1. Beneke fought back from the deficit against Watts and went on to take the final two sets en route to the flight C championship, the only bracket USU failed to win in the tournament. – matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu Women’s soccer ends losing streak Grizzlies get bloodied up By LANDON HEMSLEY staff writer The USU women’s soccer team ended their record three-game losing streak Friday afternoon on the road against Boise State, turning the tables on the Broncos and blanking them, 1-0. The lone goal of the match was scored in the 67th minute. Shantel Flanary chased a ball deep into the Bronco zone and put the ball off the defender to earn USU a corner kick. Lindsey Smart came up, took the corner kick and connected with Natalie Norris, the highflying Aggie defender. Norris solidly put her head on the ball and sent it into the back of the net. “We send Nano (Norris) in on corner kicks because she’s very good in the air,” coach Heather Cairns said of her freshman defender. “It was so good,” USU defensive midfielder Chandra Salmon said of Norris’s goal. “I think we all kind of felt it too. She was talking about it before the game. She really wanted to score. A couple of the girls on the bench were saying they knew she was going to score. She’s really good in the air, and she was completely focused.” The match was not easily won. Cairns said both sides were extremely determined to win the match. Both teams only were able to get off four shots in the first half. Both teams had trouble getting any sort of offensive momentum going, but USU did a good job of getting a few different players involved. Not only Lauren Hansen, the USU forward from Washington State, managed to get a shot off but also Rachel Feuz, the freshman defensive midfielder got in on the action, putting a shot on goal as well. Cairns said goals and shots were difficult to get in this match. “The first half was pretty uneventful. I can’t say either of the teams really had great opportunities,” Cairns said. “Goal scoring is the hardest part of soccer. Sometimes you get in a funk and the ball doesn’t bounce your way, and you have to be resilient.” Cairns said both teams came out ready to fight in the second half. USU struck first, and then Boise State really bore down and tried desperately to work USU’s offense. The effort showed. Boise outshot USU 10-3 in the second half and nearly converted on a few shaky plays. For instance, Cairns said Boise’s Shannon Saxton, the Broncos’ All-WAC forward, just narrowly missed a golden opportunity thanks to the brilliant play of Allie Maduell. “Allie disposessed Shannon Saxton on the cross. She would have buried it, and Allie dispossessed her. That was amazing,” Cairns said. – la.hem@aggiemail.usu.edu REFEREES LEAD A BLOODY Utah Grizzlies player to the penalty box after a thrilling fight in the second period of an exhibition game in the Eccles Ice Arena Friday night. The Idaho Steelheads scored three unanswered goals in the third period to take the game, 4-3. CODY GOCHNOUR photo Get the heads up about Drunk Driving! The National Come see how it feels to be behind the wheel drunk with a Drunk Driving Simulator Save A Life Tour Alcohol Awareness Education October 22, 2009 9 am-3 pm Located in the TSC Ballroom |