Utah Tech men's soccer was stopped by No. 14 Portland on Sunday night. The Trailblazers suffered a 6-0 loss in their final non-conference match of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Utah Tech was dealing with a heavy press from the Pilots from the opening moments of the game. Portland was able to get a shot off in the 8th minute, but were unable to put it on frame.
In the 19th minute the Pilots were able to break through. Despite Jacob Zimmerman stopping their first attempts, he was unable to make a save on this one. After a turnover, Portland whipped the ball into the box and had an attacker crashing through the box who was able to get a shot off and into the back of the net for the opening goal.
Through the rest of the first half, the Trailblazers were able to settle into the match. After some personnel adjustments in the 30th minute by head coach Jonny Broadhead, the team found a rhythm and broke into the final third for some chances on goal. Three of the team's first half shots came in the final 15 minutes of the half.
Carlos Vargas was one of the first-half subs who made an immediate impact. Although he couldn't find an equalizer, he had the Trailblazers best look of the first half on a shot from atop the 18-yard box. Vargas' shot came off a rebound from a short corner played moments prior.
Headed to the break the Trailblazers were down 1-0.
Out of the halftime break the Pilots came out aggressive. In the 55th minute the Pilots were able to put a second goal on the board. After earning a penalty kick off a Harrison Shaw foul in the box, Sebastian Nava got his kick past Zimmerman despite him guessing the right direction.
Just moments later, Portland's CJ Tibbling tacked on a third for the Pilots. After earning a free kick the Pilots had the ball and Tibbling was able to take a long distance shot and tuck it into the near post and into the back of the net.
The Pilots kept piling on in the final half hour of play when they scored three goals to send the Trailblazers home with a 6-0 loss
STAT BREAKDOWN: The Trailblazers had eight shots with two on goal.
Carlos Vargas and
Taylor Rogers each had two shots on the night.
Kyle Walbruch,
Jimi Villasenor,
Larsen Rogers and
Dunes Nielsen each had one apiece.
Jacob Zimmerman started and played the full 90 minutes in goal making five saves.
Portland ended the match with 20 shots and 11 shots on goal. The team was shown one yellow card and their goalkeeper made two saves.
Utah Tech now has a 2-6-0 record on the season.
UP NEXT: The Trailblazers will return home for the start of conference play this week. Utah Tech will take on Grand Canyon in Greater Zion Stadium on Friday night at 7:30. On Sunday, Air Force will come to town for a midday matchup at 1:30 pm.
