By BRUCE JACOBS
Physical.
The word comes up over and over if you ask the coaches or players of the BYU men’s soccer team to describe the Utah State Aggies.
Utah State is coming off a 1-1 tie with National College on Saturday, the same team BYU beat 4-2 Sept. 4. The Aggies also haven’t beaten the Cougars in years.
In fact, head coach Chris Watkins said he can’t remember the last time the men in blue lost to their rivals from Logan. But that doesn’t mean his team is taking tonight’s 9 p.m. matchup with Utah State lightly.
“They’re a blue-collar type of team: physical and hard-working,” Watkins said. “They work extremely hard off the ball.”
Last year, the Aggies finished third overall in the National Collegiate Soccer Association tournament in Phoenix, losing 3-2 to Weber State in the final.
“We’ve got to stick to our game plan. We can’t let them get us to play their type of game,” said sophomore goalie John Morris, who will likely have to sit out this game due to an ear injury he suffered in Saturday’s alumni game.
Despite the probable absence of his starting keeper Friday, Watkins said he isn’t too worried about stopping the Aggie attack.
“Defensively, we’re among the best in the country, even against Division I teams,” Watkins said. “Typically, Utah State’s had a hard time scoring on us,” he said. “But the same goes for us. They’re a very capable defensive team.”
Watkins said the key to a Cougar victory will be their ability to score goals against the Aggie defense.
“Hopefully we’ve come out of our scoring slump,” Watkins said. “But we’ve got to get good crosses out of our midfielders. We’ll be working on our crossing and heading in practice.”
Even though BYU has come away victorious in recent years, Friday’s contest is more than just another game for both teams.
“This is their Super Bowl,” said senior defender Nate Morris. “They (the Aggies) use us as their gauge for where they want to be each year.”
“It’s certainly a big rivalry,” Watkins said. “We can count on a close finish. They’ll be anxious to get a victory. It won’t be a blowout, guaranteed.”
Watkins said that the fans make a big difference to the team’s success. “Our fan support is big, which is why we can get good players to come here,” Watkins said. “UCLA is lucky to get 400 fans out to each game, and they were national champions. We get that many in the rain.”
Men’s soccer action vs. Utah State kicks off tonight at 9 p.m. at South Field.
