Box Score BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — After securing a scoreless opening half, the Chicago State women's soccer team (0-15, 0-13 WAC) fell, 4-0, to Utah Valley (10-4-3, 9-2-2 WAC) Saturday at SeatGeek Stadium.
"I am extremely proud of them," head coach Cristiano Costa said. "They competed equally with Utah Valley, which is one of the strongest teams in our conference. I think this group deserves a lot of credit because they fought the entire game, and it was beautiful to watch."
The first frame featured stout back-line defense from the Cougars, with captains Carmen Acedo and Lauren Reiber playing a starring role. Freshman goalkeeper Stella Chiaradia also developed an aggressive rhythm to stymie the high-flying Wolverines and keep the visitors off the board in the first half.
Offensively, Chicago State struck with four dynamite first-half scoring opportunities. Most notably, Julia Oliveira broke through Utah Valley's defense midway through the second half and launched a clean shot on goal. However, Isabel Jones-Dawe, UVU's redshirt senior goalkeeper, blocked the shot.
Sara Quevedo and Barbara Castellanos also spearheaded near-scores for the Cougars in the first half, with Jones-Dawe negating their attacks on goal as well.
After a 0-0 halftime draw, the Wolverines' offensive revived itself in the second half.
First, Heather Stainbrook scored her fourth goal of the season on a free kick from the top of the penalty area. Three minutes later, Jenna Shepherd headed in her fourth score off a corner kick.
With the Wolverines holding a commanding 2-0 lead, Anna Pickering then scored two goals in a span of two minutes, at the 26th and 27th, to polish off a 4-0 Utah Valley win.
"I'm looking forward to the next match," Costa said. "Let's see what we can bring to the table."
The Cougars will next welcome UTRGV to SeatGeek Stadium at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 9. The match will be carried live on the WAC Digital Network.
