OGDEN, Utah —The North Texas soccer team edged out Weber State Thursday night with a narrow 1-0 win on the road. 

Mean Green freshman Olivia Klein scored the game-winning goal after the Wildcats goalie couldn't secure a loose ball in front of the net. 

Senior Aaliyah Nolan put the initial pressure on the Weber State defense by penetrating the edge and getting the ball within five yards. A scrum ensued as the goalie came to get the ball and right there to clean up the mess was Klein who had a wide-open goal to shoot on.

"Give credit to Weber State," said head coach John Hedlund. "They're a very hardworking team and their goalkeeper played outstanding tonight. We were buzzing around in the first-half creating several opportunities on goal but in the second-half our legs seemed dead and we were just not attacking as well."

The goal, which is Klein's second of the year, was a huge relief to North Texas (3-1-1) who out shot WSU 10-1 in the first-half and controlled most of the possession in the first-half but had nothing to show for it.

An anxious Weber State (0-2-1) team in the second-half turned aggressive and put serious pressure on the UNT backline by finding passing lanes and creating opportunities on counters. The pressure seemed to tighten North Texas as they couldn't hold possession as well and only managed a couple scoring opportunities the entire second-half.

Prior to the goal, the Mean Green's best chance came in the 62nd minute when on a counter attack, Klein received the ball on the far right midfield and had a wide-open Nolan streaking to her left. The freshman, though, didn't see Nolan making her run and didn't reverse the field and instead dribbled into traffic where she lost the ball.

After a quick breather, Klein checked back into the match a few minutes later and this time was ready.
 
As Nolan made her move towards the goal in the 84th minute and the goalie came off her line, Klein and senior forward Taylor Torres collapsed on the attack to create the final chance.

As the ball bounced around in front of the net, Torres one-timed it to Klein for goal.

"The girls showed the mental toughness I was looking for battling the high-altitude in Utah and playing Santa Clara on Monday," Hedlund said. "Thankfully Olivia came up big for us late in the game with a nice goal to get the win."

Both Torres and Nolan were awarded with an assist on the goal, which gives them a team-leading seven points each on the year.

Through the first five matches, Klein has five points and scored two goals on just five shot attempts. She currently has the second-most points on the team and is tied with the second-most goals. 

North Texas returns to Denton on Sunday as they host Pitt at noon. Sunday's match will also be the program's alumni gathering game. More than 20 UNT soccer alums will be honored on the field.

Quick Shots

• Senior Carissa Sanders played all 90 minutes on Thursday and has now played 90 plus minutes 40 times. She has played in 72 career games for the Mean Green.
• Mean Green goalie Kelsey Brann improved to 3-1-1 on the year.
• Junior Madeline Guderian made her first start of the year and had a season-high two shots on goal. 
• North Texas had a season-high five corner kicks on Thursday