The Snow College men's soccer team defeated Utah State University Eastern in their Scenic West Athletic Conference opener 1-0.
Fred Cotta scored the lone goal of the game in the 14th minute, allowing the Badgers to settle in and play a complete game.
The Badgers are coming off a 2-1 loss against Otero Junior College, which wrapped up their non-conference slate. They went 2-1 in those games and are welcoming the Eagles to town to start conference play.
The Eagles started the game out on the right foot, putting two shots up within the first couple minutes of action. Snow College was able to keep USUE at bay and settle into the game and flip the momentum.
The Badgers put the pressure on in the 14th minute with Ryan Henery putting a shot on net that was blocked.
Kade Davis was able to take the deflection and feed it to
Fred Cotta for the first goal of the game, making it 1-0. It was the sophomore's first goal as a Badger.
After the goal, both sides started getting physical, and USUE picked up a red card in the 19th minute, having to play the rest of the game a man down.
Snow College held control for a majority of the first 45, putting 12 shots up with four being on net. The Eagles had four shots and posted three saves while allowing the goal.
The Badgers kept up the pressure in the second half, controlling the pace, while putting an additional three shots on net. The Eagles were able to find chances in the second half to tie the game, but they were all turned away by the Snow College defense with goalie
Mathias Christensen recording two saves.
The Badgers were able to take control for the rest of the game, winning 1-0 to open SWAC play. They finished with 21 shots, seven of which were on net compared to USUE's eight shots, of which two found their way on net.
Snow College will move to 3-1-0 overall and a 1-0-0 start to SWAC play. The Badgers will continue conference play at home next week against Colorado Northwestern Community College Thursday at 3:30 p.m. and Salt Lake Community College Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The Spartans sit at 0-3-1 entering the match against the Badgers. SLCC currently owns a 1-1-2 record and is sitting right outside the top 20 in the polls. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
