Overtime in sports is usually an extra opportunity for a team to put away a victory in dramatic fashion. For the UVU women’s soccer team, it has been everything but.
After starting off the season on the wrong foot with a late loss to UTEP, UVU hit the road with a 3-2 win over Sacred Heart in Hawaii. Since that win, UVU is 0-5-1, with four of those losses occuring in overtime.
“This is a test of our character,” said head coach Brent Anderson. “Every day we come out and we set new goals for ourselves. We just push forward for the next game and that’s what we work towards.”
The Wolverines have lost all their games by one goal, and it has always come late in the game. They haven’t scored once in overtime and have allowed four goals in overtime, as well. They are averaging 1.5 goals a game and holding their opponents to an average 2.12 goals a game. But Anderson is trying to look at the glass half full.
“That’s the trick,” Anderson said. “We have to try to stay positive. It’s not going the way that we wanted or we expected.”
Anderson knows exactly what his team needs to do to turn their success around.
“We need to do a better job of finishing [games],” Anderson said. “Whether we’re at home or whether we’re on the road, we need to have the mental toughness to finish games off. To start them right and finish them off right and that’s what we’re working for.”
The Wolverines started their season off by losing junior goalkeeper Lauren Sack in the first game of the season. Backup goalkeeper Jessica Duffin filled in nicely, sporting a .771 save percentage. Sack has played 50 minutes less than Duffin and has also returned from her shoulder injury, being able to save 74.3 percent of shots coming her way.
“Day by day, Sack seems to be playing pain free and that’s great,” Anderson said. “That doesn’t mean that Jessica Duffin is out of the goal. Jessica played very well for us while Lauren was hurt. They’re both still pushing each other and that’s what’s great. They have a great relationship and they both push each other very hard. That makes a competitive environment for them.”
UVU will not return to Clyde Field until Oct. 5, when the Wolverines host NJIT. Until then, they will continue on their road trip to California and Washington and have a game against across-the-valley rivals BYU.
