Soccer returns from Iowa empty-handed

Max Kennedy

A winless weekend in Iowa has lowered the Jacks’ record to 4-4-1 on the season.

After winning two games against Wisconsin-Green Bay and North Dakota at home on Sept. 9 and Sept. 11, the SDSU women’s soccer team was hoping to get at least one victory last weekend against Iowa State or Northern Iowa.

Their first opportunity came against ISU, but the Jacks lost 1-0 on a goal in the 52nd minute.

“I thought that we played good enough to win or tie but we could not finish chances,” head coach Lang Wedemeyer said.

Not finishing on scoring chances has become a common theme for this year’s team. The Jacks shot the ball eleven times against ISU, but only three were on goal and none got past ISU goalkeeper Andrea Swanson. The match was especially upsetting because two of the shots on goal bounced off the goalkeeper’s best friend: the posts.

Things were looking better for the Jacks Sunday afternoon in their match with UNI. SDSU defender Courtney Higgins nailed her first goal of the season in the 21st minute after assists from Kayla Braffet and Kelsey Ferguson. Braffet also found the back of the net in the 55th minute to give the Jacks a 2-0 lead.

UNI scored a goal of their own in the 65th minute, but SDSU appeared to still be in control of the game. Then came an SDSU own-goal, which tied things at 2-2. The own goal came off of a corner kick in the 81st minute. Neither team could muster a goal through two overtime periods and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

“Every game’s a little different but this year we played well enough to beat UNI. To their credit they found a way to get back in the game, and then we had that own goal and we ended up tying UNI for a second year in a row” Wedemeyer said.

Braffet had a good weekend, shooting the ball four times against ISU with one shot on goal, and scoring a goal and getting an assist against UNI.

“Kayla is a player who is always dangerous and can make things happen and we try to put her in a position to do so,” Wedemeyer said.

The Jacks now have a week off from competition before a pair of conference matches at Fishback Soccer Park. The Jacks will host Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 and Southern Utah on Oct. 2 at 1 p.m.