SAN DIEGO - Utah soccer received a second-half brace from Mariah Elmer, her first two goals of the season, as the Utes held off San Diego this afternoon, 2-1. Utah has played four of its first six games on the road this season, amassing a record of 3-2-1.

"What a great win for our team," head coach Rich Manning said. "The players displayed tremendous girt and character. San Diego is a very good team and we never backed down. We responded well during their final push to earn victory. This experience will serve us well heading toward conference play."

Utah's first shot of the game came courtesy of Eden Jacobsen, who had her try blocked in the 11th minute. Lindsey Luke was tested in the 22nd minute on a try by Julianne De Arms that she was able to save.

The Utes mustered a few more chances in the half but could net find the net. Mikayla Elmer went wide in the 36th minute as Utah countered after a USD corner. Megan Trabert headed Kaycee Buckley's corner over the bar in the 39th and Janie Kearl also fired wide in the 43rd minute. Luke came up large at the other end making consecutive saves on Maddie Marotta and Julie Sherwood

In the second half, Mariah Elmer pushed the Utes in front. She dribbled to the right and from 10 yards out, found the lower left corner in the 51st minute for a 1-0 lead.

"Megan passed me the ball and the defender was toght on my back," Elmer said. "So I turned for a quick shot and it went in."

Elmer continued to attack the USD goal, heading high in the 53rd and then having a try blocked away for a corner. On the ensuing attempt, Taylor Slattery headed off the bar and the ball fell right to Elmer who tapped home her second goal of the game.

"I saw Taylor shoot the ball and what we work on a lot in practice is following up on the initial shot," Elmer added. "I just tracked the ball and it was a great shot by Taylor. I got a touch on it and it went in."

Both teams continued to press with Utah looking for the goal to put the game away and USD trying to claw back into the contest. Luke stopped Tara Meier in the 63rd and at the other end, Natalie Vukic was denied by Michelle Craft. Mikayla Elmer went wide in the 79th and the Utes earned successive corners, leading to a Buckley try being blocked in the 83rd minute.

USD found their goal in the 85th minute, trimming the lead to one on Caitlyn Kretzschmar's first of the season. She was able to collect a corner, originally deflected by Luke, and turn home for the tally.

The Utes effectively killed off the final five minutes and got the road victory. Utah finished with a 12-11 edge in shots as Luke finished with four saves on the day.

Utah remains on the road next week when it travels to Boise State. The Utes and Broncos kick-off at 4 p.m. MT on Friday.

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