OREM, Utah—Facing its toughest atmosphere of the season, the Gonzaga University men's soccer team faded late at Utah Valley Friday night, falling 2-0 to the Wolverines at a rowdy Clyde Field in Orem, Utah.
"The guys played well," said Gonzaga head coach Einar Thorarinsson. "We were even on shots in the first half and had good opportunities to score in the first half, but we just ran out of steam."
The Bulldogs took the first three shots of the match with Conner Bevans putting one on frame not even two minutes into the contest. Clark Phillips saw an attempt blocked in the 17th minute of the match, and Ben White went wide with a shot in the 20th.
"We had good connection from the back to the front to open up the game," said Thorarinsson. "We probably should have scored in the first 20 minutes."
Two more Gonzaga shots came in the next 10 minutes, but after that the Bulldogs began to wear down. The 4,774 feet of elevation and raucous homecoming crowd at Utah Valley got to the Zags, and the home side began to take more chances.
"It was a tough atmosphere for us to play in. We hadn't played on the field before and the atmosphere was difficult for us. After 20 minutes or so, the altitude probably got to us. There was something about the atmosphere that wore us down."
After a scoreless first half, the hosts marked up the scoresheet six minutes into the second. Matt Gay scored from the left side of the box, sliding the ball past Chris Lowrimore and into the net.
Gay got a second goal, and his third of the season, in the 85th minute when he collected a rebound and put the ball back to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead.
The Zags tried to get a goal back in the dying minutes thanks to shots by David Sigurdsson and Phillips. Sigurdsson's went wide, however, and Phillips saw his attempt saved by Utah Valley keeper Collin Partee to keep the 2-0 scoreline.
The Bulldogs (0-4-0) will have another tough test in their next match as they take on 18th-ranked California Sun., Sept. 14 at 1:00 p.m. in Berkeley, Calif. The Bears will be the second ranked team Gonzaga has faced this year. Washington was ranked No. 6 when the two teams squared off in the season opener Aug. 29.
