Cougars Tie Mariners 1-1 in Final 2008 Game
Kim Christensen
Clay Christensen
PROVO, UT (July 19, 2008)
The BYU men's soccer team ended their season tonight with a 1-1 tie with the Abbotsford Mariners. The game was exciting through to the end, with fifteen shots on goal for the Cougars and seven for the Mariners.
The first finished goal came in the 9th minute when Mariner Spencer Schmidt scored a goal off of a free kick.
The scoreboard stayed at 1-0 for Abbotsford until the 65th minute, when BYU's Aaron Gabbart played a through ball to forward Steven Fellows, who took a touch with his right foot and blasted the ball into the back of the net.
The Cougars had several more chances on goal and came close, but they weren't able to finish any more balls, ending the game at a 1-1 tie.
"We gave a good effort tonight," said head coach Chris Watkins. "We just need to learn how to finish balls and come back and win the game."
Tonight, the Cougars recognized their four seniors who won't be returning next season: Morgan Gilliam, Clay Christenson, Aaron Gabbart, and Brandon Gilliam.
"It was a tough night," said Clay Christenson. "As a senior, knowing it's your last game is hard. You need to be careful not to put added pressure on yourself because of that. But it was great - sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce the way you want it to, but the one thing we always do have control over is our effort, and we gave it our all tonight."
The team will have some exhibition games in the fall. Visit www.byusoccer.com for updates.
