FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 29, 2023) – Northern Arizona Soccer (6-3-3) bounced back from opening weekend of Big Sky play to earn a 4-1 victory against the Weber State Wildcats tonight at home.
"It's always good to win in conference, we know that Weber State is a very good team. We came out with a ton of energy today that showed that we can create some unbalancing situations and I thought that energy we had in the first ten minutes was brilliant," head coach
Alan Berrios said.
It did not take long for NAU to open up scoring as
Allie Larsen stepped up to take a free kick just two minutes into the match. Larsen sent the ball in from roughly 35 feet out and quickly found the back of the net, claiming her first goal with the Jacks.
Back down the stretch after WSU's kickoff, the Jacks put a 2-0 lead on the board just a minute later as
Allison Veloz tabbed her fourth goal of the season off a
Josie Novak shot deflection. Veloz followed through right in front of the goal line for her fourth goal of the season.
15 minutes into the match as the Wildcats began to settle in, Grace Kirby put one on goal for WSU as
Trinity Corcoran made her first save of the night. Possession became split pretty evenly as each team looked for a chance before the half. With eight minutes remaining ahead of halftime, Sayler Schlosser put up one of the Wildcats best scoring opportunities of the match, hitting the crossbar and bouncing out of play.
With just four minutes remaining in the first half,
Allie Larsen stepped up to take what looked almost identical to her first free kick goal in the beginning of the match. Larsen found the back of the net right away again, marking her second career goal with NAU.
NAU led 3-0 through the first 45 minutes of play as the shot count was set at an even 10-10. Corcoran made a total of three saves in the first half and came out in the second half as
Natalie Manzo started the second 45.
The second half proved to be a more defensive game for both teams as NAU would only put six shots up and Weber State with seven total.
83 minutes in, Weber State put the Widlcats lone goal in the back of the net as Delaney Gibbons found her first goal of the season through some traffic inside NAU's box.
The Jacks reclaimed the three-goal lead as
Katie Willoughby made a run up midfield, connecting with
Haylee Phoenix inside the box while Phoenix tipped it in past WSU keeper Maya Cordova.
The Lumberjacks will return to action inside Lumberjack Stadium this Sunday as the Jacks will host Idaho State for Senior Day. To stay up to date with NAU Soccer, follow the Jacks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
