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Show StatesmanSports Page 14 Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 OPINION Athletic dominance Three days. Six wins. Two WAC titles. All in a weekend's work for Utah State Athletics. Simply put, it's a great time to be an Aggie, regardless of what sport you're following. The fall sports seasons are winding down, and the success of the university teams across the board is abundant. This past weekend alone, every team that saw action came away victorious. How often can a school say its two best victories of the weekend came from neither football or basketball? The biggest and most significant win belonged to the women's soccer team. For the second straight season, the Aggies are going dancing in soccer after 2-1 and 1-0 victories over Seattle and Denver in the WAC Tournament. That's four consecutive regular season titles and two straight tournament titles on the pitch. It wasn't easy, but after never having made the NCAA Tournament, the soccer gals pulled it off two years in a row. And that was just one of the two conference titles earned over the weekend. The women's volleyball team pulled off the second-biggest win with a fourset win over New Mexico State to clinch at least a share of the regular season conference title — something the volleyball team had never done as a member of the WAC. The win also meant a sweep in the battle of the Aggies on the volleyball court this season and clinched the No. 1 seed for the Aggies in the conference tournament later this month. Then there's the team that everyone in the state is talking about this season, the Utah State football team. With their win over Texas State Saturday, the Aggies improved to 8-2 this season and set up a showdown with Louisiana Tech in two weeks for the conference title. The Aggies have won eight games in a single season on the gridiron for the first time since 1974, when current head coach Gary Andersen was just 10 years old. Not only that, but USU is ranked in the top 20 in at least a handful of statistical categories and is two missed field goals away from potentially being 10-0 and ranked nationally. Even still, the football gang is still receiving votes in the national polls and bowl eligible for a second-consecutive year after not having made a bowl game since 1997. Better yet, the Spectrum magic that has been the pride of Utah State for so many years is finally carrying over the Romney Stadium. Who doesn't love weekends like this past one where you get 9-plus straight hours of Aggie sports in person? And with the men's and women's basketball seasons kicking off, Aggie Nation has even more to be excited about. The men cruised past Grand Canyon and Simon Fraser in exhibition play while the women ran past New Mexico Highlands in their only exhibition. Both teams were picked to win the WAC and with both teams returning its core of key players after the success both teams saw last season, you can bet the Spectrum will be rocking all season long. And while it's not a university-sponsored team, we can't forget the guys in the rink at the Eccles Ice Center. The hockey team is always dominant, most recently a 10-1 shellacking of Weber State. The players are fast, physical and always put on a good show for the crowd. Speaking of the crowd, did I mention it's the best in the country? The way the Utah State HURD has shown up to games this season, it leaves little room for argument. Yep, Aggie Nation is running full throttle this season. It's definitely a good time to be an Aggie. In its final season in the WAC, Utah State is making sure it goes out with a bang. - Curtis is a proud husband and father, a junior in print journalism, an aspiring sports journalist, and referee. He eats, sleeps and breathes sports. His life goal is to bowl a perfect 300. Send any co ► nments to curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail. usu.edu or on Twitter @CurtisLundstrom. Aggies beat WSU Wildcats BY SEAN O'SULLIVAN staff writer Utah State's hockey team bounced back after a tough loss to the University of Utah by beating the Weber State Wildcats 10-1 Saturday night at - sean.osullivan@aggiemaiLusu.edu Twitter: @seansy89 Men's Basketball Nov. 10 usu vs. Idaho State, 7 p.m SATURDAY, Soccer FRIDAY, Nov. 9 USU at BYU, 6 p.m. Voile ball Nov. 10 SATURDAY, USU at San Jose State, 8 p.m. Women's Basketball THURSDAY, Nov. 8 Blue and White game, 7 p.m. MONDAY, Nov. 12 USU at Utah Valley, 7 p.m. Aggie Scoreboard Football SATURDAY, Nov. 3 Utah State 38, Texas State 7 Soccer FRIDAY, Nov. 2 Utah State 2, Seattle 1 SUNDAY, Nov. 4 Utah State 1, Denver 0 Voile ball THURSDAY, Nov. 1 Utah State 3, Denver 2 SATURDAY, Nov. 3 Utah State 3, NMSU 1 Hockey FRIDAY, Nov. 2 Utah 6, Utah State 2 SATURDAY, Nov. 3 Utah State 10, Weber State 1 Football RECORD PTS PVS 1 Alabama (60) 9-0 1500 1 2 Oregon 2 9-0 1421 3 Kans. State 9-0 1385 3 4 Notre Dame 9-0 1318 4 5 Ohio State 10-0 1198 6 7 5 Georgia 8-1 1198 7 Florida 8-1 1112 8 8 Fla. State 8-1 1057 9 7-2 1029 5 9 LSU 10 Clemson 8-1 931 10 11 Louisville 9-0 862 12 12 S. Carolina 7-2 836 11 13 Oregon State 7-1 796 13 14 Oklahoma 6-2 765 14 15 Texas A&M 7-2 700 16 16 Stanford 7-2 655 15 17 UCLA 7-2 446 25 7-2 441 21 18 Nebraska 7-2 355 NR 19 Texas 19 La. Tech 8-1 355 22 21 USC 6-3 237 18 7-2 187 17 22 Miss. State 23 Toledo 8-1 146 NR 24 Rutgers 7-1 99 NR 25 Texas Tech 6-3 97 20 Dropped from rankings: Boise State 19, West Virginia 23, Arizona 24 Others receiving votes: North- AGGIE DEFENDER TY JOHNS skates away from a Weber State player in Utah State's 10-I victory over the Wildcats on Saturday in the George S. Eccles Ice Center. USU's 10 goals were the most scored in a game this season. DELAYNE LOCKE photo STUDENT SEASON PASSES Now On Sale for 2012-13 Season , a(cocco This price valid through November 21. Logan office now open 9 a.m - 5:30 p.m. Monday Through Saturday USU students must present written proof that they are currently enrolled. Sale applies to high school and middle school students, also. Students under 18 must have signed parent's release. 11:3 Aggie Schedules AP Top 25 HOCKEY the George S. Eccles Ice Center in North Logan. This is the first time this year that the Aggies reached double digits. Aggie forward Chris Videto opened the scoring less than a minute into the contest by beating Weber State's goalie on a breakaway with a smooth move to the backhand after intercepting an errant pass. Utah State never trailed in the game and the closest Weber State came to a lead was when the Aggies were up 2-1 to end the first period. Videto joined forwards Matt Hamilton and Cooper Limb as the three Aggies with two goals. Forwards Brian Gibbons and Ian Beckstrom also scored along with defensemen Jordan Kerr and Gary Higgs. Glance beaver mountain 1351 East 700 North Logan www.sk'ithebeay.com ern Illinois 64, Kent State 61, Michigan 53, TCU 38, Northwestern 32, Oklahoma State 27, Ohio 22, UCF 15, Boise State 11, Washington 9, Penn State 8, San Diego State 7, Tulsa 6, Arizona 5, Utah State 4, Fresno State 2 SOCCER: BYU up next *From page 13 muscles on defense behind the play of Norris, Rose and Tillotson. In the final 16 seconds, Denver had a corner kick where they sent every player into the box. The Aggies cleared the corner and took off with the ball down the field to kill of the remaining seconds off the clock. "The win today was super fun, obviously," Tillotson said. "Denver is a really great team. You have to give it up for them, they gave us a hard win. The team just played really well today. I think we played together and we have a solid backline." The Denver players went home with their first loss in more than two months. The Aggies' record going into the NCAA tournament stands at 13-2-6. USU will face BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 9 in Provo. -jborba@aggiemaiLusu.edu Twitter: @JBorbal5 Get Back to Square One. Your Best Choice for Wedding Invitations paper goods sauare one Prinrins 630 West 200 North 753-8875 |