By Joseph Evans
Facing the toughest weekend of the season against in-state rivals Utah State and Weber State, the BYU men”s soccer team was able to squeeze out two close wins to remain undefeated on the season.
The team in now 7-0 on the season.
In Ogden on Saturday Oct. 19, the Cougars beat Weber State 1-0 in a tightly contested defensive game.
Sophomore forward Travis Winn scored off a cross from the corner by Lowe early into the half for the only score of the contest.
“Our defense was the bright spot for the game,” said assistant coach Brian Jolley. “It was a well played game and we are very pleased with the way we battled.”
Friday night Oct. 18, the Cougars kept the Aggies on their heels early with an early score from junior forward Matt Affleck. Affleck came flying through defenders and headed in a beautiful cross from teammate senior midfielder Nate Lowe, that bounced off the ground before it found the back of the net 12 minutes into the first half.
“It was a very physical game,” Affleck said. “So physical that even my body hit the post after the goal.”
After missing some key scoring opportunities throughout the second half, Utah State scored with four minutes left in the game to tie the score 1-1.
The Cougars offense regrouped quickly.
Junior forward Matt Walker, playing in his first action of the regular season after coming off an injury, led the attack. After dribbling through three Aggie defenders on the left side of the box, Walker laid a perfect pass down the middle to junior foward Christopher Lamb for the win.
“The winning goal was all Walker,” Lamb said after making the game winning goal with 2:12 left on the clock.
The team will host Weber State 7:30 on Friday, Oct. 25 on KBYU-TV to close out the regular season.
