USU has been shut out six times this season, including a scoreless draw.

Lauren Hansen has beaten the opposing goalie four times, but she is one of just four players with at least two goals. Erin Salmon has three scores, while Lindsey Smart and Shantel Flanary have two each. USU's lack of scoring punch was a factor in its 2-0 loss to Brigham Young, which is no disgrace as the Cougars followed their win at Logan with a 5-0 pounding of Utah.

"We had our chances, we just didn't have enough," Utah State coach Heather Cairns said after the loss to BYU. "We've got to be better in the attacking third, against any type of opponent. We're just not playing well in the attacking third. That's something that we'll improve on as we enter conference play."

Utah State (5-7-1), 3-0 in WAC openers, faces an Idaho (1-10-1) team that has lost eight straight. The match is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Bell Soccer Field, where the Aggies are 4-2-1.

The defense and senior goalie Ali Griffin have kept Utah State within striking distance most of the season. The Aggies have allowed more than two goals just once, a 3-0 loss to Long Beach State.

Griffin, who boasts a 1.31 goals-against average, made seven saves against BYU.

"She kept us in the match with some tremendous saves," Cairns said. "We played a better second half than first, but it just wasn't quite enough. We just didn't create enough quality chances."

Utah State finished 5-3 in league during the 2007 season, including a 4-0 victory against San Jose State in the opening round of the WAC Tournament before eventually losing 1-0 to No. 1 seeded Hawaii.

Awards

BYU freshman forward Lauren Anderson was named the Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer Co-Offensive Player of the Week for scoring two goals and assisting in two more as the Cougars blanked Utah State 2-0 and Utah 5-0.

* Utah senior outside hitter Lori Baird earned Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors. Baird led the Utes to three consecutive road victories last week, including conference wins at TCU and New Mexico. For the week, Baird averaged 4.18 kills, 1.82 blocks, 0.91 digs and 5.23 points with a .420 hitting percentage.

martyr@sltrib.com