SALT LAKE CITY – Taliana Kaufusi tallied her third goal of the season and the University of Utah women’s soccer team came away with a 1-1 draw on Sunday evening in a match against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Ute Field.
The Utes’ second tie of the season puts their record at 3-1-2, while Alabama is 4-1-1.
“Alabama is a wonderful team and there’s no shame in tying against them,” said coach Hideki Nakada, “but we have to learn to finish the game better. We struggled to maintain possession throughout the match and for the first time this season, we weren’t able to control the tempo of the game. We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend and we will use it to get better.”
Utah wasted no time breaking the ice with Kaufusi’s third-minute strike putting the home side ahead 1-0. The sophomore from Salt Lake City caught up to a perfectly placed lead pass from Luisa Delgado and beat goalkeeper McKinley Crone with a shot from left side of the box for the earliest goal the Utes have scored so far in 2022.
The rest of the first half saw an airtight Utah defense prevent the Crimson Tide from recording a single shot on goal and the Utes also successfully defended a trio of corner kicks to protect their slim lead. Kaufusi’s score would go down as the only on-target effort of the initial frame as the score remained 1-0 at the break.
Alabama ramped up the pressure in the second half, outshooting their hosts, 12-2, but for more of the final…
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