Rogers' Header Helps Utah Draw at ASU, 1-1

Thursday, September 29

Tempe, Ariz.

5:30 PM

University of Utah

6-2-2,1-0-1

Arizona State

5-3-2,0-1-1

OT 3

OT 4

Utah

Arizona State

9/29/2016 7:03 PM | Soccer

Box Score

Senior's first goal of season proves vital

TEMPE, Ariz. - Utah Soccer got a goal from Katie Rogers on the brink of halftime before Arizona State equalized late in the contest during a 1-1 draw

In the 44^th minute, Utah earned a free kick and Paola Van der Veen pounded the ball deep into the penalty area. Rogers popped up and connected on a looping header for a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal of the season for the defensive midfielder and seventh for her career.

"ASU came out really string and we had to match that," Rogers stated. "I'm proud of us because we worked our butts off. This team puts their heart and soul into every match and you can't compare the effort they give. As a senior, it's special to be a part of."

"I think we have proven over the past few weeks that we have some stout defending and can shut down attackers," head coach Rich Manning said. "We had a lot of players step up and play well, not just defensively. Taylor Slattery has performed well these past two games and Natalie Vukic was strong. Obviously, Katie was solid and Haylee Cacciacarne really did a nice job for us in midfield."

Carly Nelson started in goal and made an early save on Jessica Raybe. However, the freshman was lost of the game when she collided with an ASU player just under the 20-minute mark.

Utah had a pair of chances to take the lead before Rogers' opener when Eden Jacobsen was blocked and Emma Malsy denied Ireland Dunn.

July Mathias stepped into Nelson's spot in goal and made a fine save on Jazmarie Mader as Utah took a lead into halftime.

In the second half, Utah's defense did a nice job closing down the ASU attacks, getting in front of shots from Kylie Miniefield and Madison Stark. Despite their best efforts, Utah could not see out the final 10 minutes with Mader scoring in the 81^st minute with the first Sun Devil shot on goal in the second stanza.

Hailey Skolmoski had Utah's lone attempt on goal in the second half and Mathias was able to send the game to overtime with a pair of nice stops on Larisa Staub and Lucy Lara during the last five minutes of regulation.

Prior to ASU's equalizer, Utah had gone 460 minutes without conceding a goal, spanning five contests

Utah dominated the first 10 minutes of overtime as Slattery started things out by forcing a save from Malsy. In the waning moments, Rogers headed a corner wide and Vukic headed another corner over the bar.

After Staub hit the post in the 106^th minute, Utah had two more chances to steal the victory. Unfortunately, Slattery missed high and on the final kick of the match, Rogers sailed one over the bar.

Utah has never won in Tempe, as this was the first tie after losing four in a row to the Sun Devils on their home field.

Utah is back in action on Sunday when it plays at Arizona. Kick-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT and can be seen live on the Pac-12 Networks.