OREM, Utah — Kate Booth isn’t the leading scorer for Utah Valley women’s soccer, but she’s developing a habit for clutch goals in her final season of college soccer.
The fifth-year senior converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute to keep the Wolverines unbeaten in Big West play with a 1-1 draw Saturday night against Cal State Fullerton at UCCU Stadium.
It’s the third goal of the year for Booth, who also scored the game-winner with fewer than 90 seconds remaining of a 1-0 win Sept. 3 over Washington State in Hawaii. The former Woods Cross High standout who started her career at Portland and Memphis before marriage to her husband, RSL Academy alum Zach Booth, took her to Europe a year ago.
With one year of eligibility remaining — and Zach on loan at Real Salt Lake through at least the end of the season from Dutch Eredivisie side Excelsior — the other Booth has built up a clutch gene in Orem.
After starting the first 11 matches in a variety of positions, Booth came off the bench at forward for each of the past two including setting up her own heroics.
The Wolverines (6-4-3, 2-0-2 Big West) trailed for nearly the entire match after Cassie Villanueva gave the Titans (5-2-5, 2-0-2 Big West) a 1-0 lead with a quick-strike counter attack.
Utah Valley out-shot Fullerton 22-6 and held the Titans to a single shot on target. That helped set up Booth’s heroics in the final two minutes, when Elle Young sent a free kick into the box and Tess Livingston was fouled in the area.
The initial penalty take was saved. But Booth buried the second attempt after Fullerton goalkeeper Allison Craycroft was judged to have come off her line early.
“I thought we created a number of chances,” UVU head coach Chris Lemay told Utah Valley Athletics after the match, “but didn’t do well enough in the final third and didn’t execute in critical moments. To be in the position where we had to crawl ourselves back into this match and preserve a point is pretty disappointing at home. I don’t think we played bad, but we weren’t our best tonight.”
More than 700 miles away in Santa Barbara, California, the Wovlerines’ men’s team nearly pulled off a stunning rally before suffering their first loss of the year.
Donovan Sessoms had two goals and an assist, including a penalty kick in the 50th minute that gave UC Santa Barbara a 3-0 lead over Utah Valley.
But Jose Luis Martin Montealegre converted a penalty just three minutes later to pull one back, and Brayden Tester finished his second goal of the season on a looping cross from Oliver Watts that Ashton Wheeler headed to Tester for a goal in the 86th minute.
But the Wolverines (5-1-2, 1-1-0 Big West) could get no closer in suffering their first loss of the season.
Utah Valley will return to southern California next Wednesday at Cal State Fullerton. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT on ESPN+.
