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Utah Soccer Set To Host West Coast Opposition Friday
9/15/2008 12:00 AM | Soccer
Sept. 15, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah women's soccer team (2-5-1) is back in action at home this weekend, beginning with a Friday match against Long Beach State. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Ute Field. Utah will then host No. 21-ranked Cal State Fullerton Sunday at 1 p.m.
Utah is coming off of a successful weekend that saw the Utes post a home win and a draw on the road. With Friday night's 2-0 victory against Utah State, the Utes snapped a four-game skid and picked up their second win of the year. Sunday's match saw Utah got to overtime for the fourth time in eight games, ultimately finishing in a 0-0 stalemate at Loyola Marymount.
The game-winning goal against Utah State came off the foot of junior midfielder Kelly Isleib (Park City, Utah), who tallied her second game-winner and fourth goal of the season. The second goal was tacked on by sophomore defender Morgan Skeen (Coto de Caza, Calif.), who notched her first career tally.
Utah is 1-2 in home matches this year, previously falling to Arizona and Georgia, before beating Utah State. The Long Beach State 49ers enter the weekend with a 1-0 mark away from home, while the Cal State Fullerton Titans come in with a 2-1 road record.
The Utes and 49ers have previously met twice, with LBSU besting Utah both times, once in Long Beach and once in Salt Lake City. Their last meeting was Sept. 2, 2007, as LBSU topped Utah by a 1-0 score on its home field. The Utes and CSF have tangled only once before, with the Titans winning by a 4-0 margin on a neutral field in 2005.
Utah is currently led offensively by Isleib, whose four goals, eight points and two game-winners are each tops in their respective categories. The Utes have also gotten one goal each from senior midfielder Katy Reineke (Salt Lake City), Skeen, freshman midfielder Katie Martinez (Littleton, Colo.) and freshman forward Chelsea Forbes (Bountiful, Utah).
Scouting The Long Beach State 49ers...
Long Beach State (4-1-2) comes to Salt Lake City following a 3-0 win against BYU and a 3-3 draw with Oregon last weekend. The 49ers began the season 3-0-1 before picking up their first loss, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of UNLV.
The 49er offense this year is on a pattern of feast or famine this year. LBSU has put at least three goals on the scoreboard in five of their games. In the other two, they were held scoreless: the aforementioned loss to UNLV and a 0-0 draw with Denver.
Long Beach State is led offensively by Lindsay Bullock, who has piled up four goals and one assist for a season total of nine points. Through just seven games, the sophomore midfielder is one point shy of eclipsing her freshman year totals of five goals and 10 points in 20 games.
The 49ers posted a 13-7-0 record in 2007, winning its second consecutive Big West title, but fell in the first round of the conference tournament. They are coached by Mauricio Ingrassia, now in his fifth season at the helm for LBSU. He enters the weekend on the cusp of his 50th career win at Long Beach, holding a current record of 49-27-9 (.641).
Scouting The Cal State Fullerton Titans...
No. 21-ranked Cal State Fullerton carries a 4-3-0 record into the weekend. Before heading to Ute Field for Sunday's match against the Utes, the Titans will take on SMU at home Friday night.
Several CSF players have gotten in on the offensive charge, with three players scoring two goals apiece and four others netting one. The current leading point holder is Tamara Dewey, a redshirt sophomore defender, who has added an assist to her two goals for five points.
Cal State Fullerton is currently on a three-game downward slide, having scored just one goal in its last three matches. CSF fell to Santa Clara on Sept. 7, 2-1 at home, and has since suffered two consecutive 3-0 shutout losses, one at the hands of Virginia Tech on a neutral pitch and the other to No. 19 Wake Forest.
The Titans are led by second-year head coach Demian Brown, who posted a 12-8-2 record in his inaugural season last year. He brought back 10 letterwinners and six starters from the 2007 squad that posted a 6-2 Big West record and reached the NCAA Tournament, before falling in the first round at No. 1 UCLA, 3-1.
From The Mind of Manning...
Quotes from Utah head coach Rich Manning regarding his squad, this week's opponents and other items of note:
On the upcoming matches against Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton:
"I am pretty familiar with Long Beach State. I know their coach very well and I have seen them play a few times. They are a veteran group that has won the Big West Conference a couple of times but haven't made the NCAA Tournament. LBSU is a mature group that is very motivated to achieve their goal of reaching the tournament. They play good soccer and they have some attacking weapons that we will have to keep an eye on.
"Cal State Fullerton got off to a strong start this year and along with Long Beach State they are the class of the Big West. They are gritty, athletic and can move the ball around well. I think both of these games will provide another level of good competition for us. Both teams seem similar to a couple of squads we will face in the Mountain West Conference."
On playing the next two games at home:
"I know all of us, players and coaches alike, have been really excited about the environment at our home games this year. Particularly Friday night with all of the Utah youth players there, it really energized our team. We are excited now to come back and try to reward our fans with more strong performances at home."
On last weekend's positive results:
"I feel that we have some really solid footing now and we have a better understanding as a group of what we are trying to do out there. We are communicating better and making better decisions. Our players are reacting more cohesively and with more confidence. The resiliency and mental toughness that we showed early on this season could really carry us in some of these tight games as we move forward."
On the ever-improving Utah defense:
"I think our defense has been our biggest area of improvement so far. We have done a good job lately of limiting our opponents' quality scoring chances. We are making them earn everything they get and giving away a lot less."
Rogers Earns Conference Honors...
Junior goalkeeper Emalee Rogers (Centerville, Utah) was named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. Rogers kept back-to-back clean sheets over the weekend, recording her first two shutouts of the year. She made five saves in a 2-0 victory against Utah State Friday night, then made three more in a double-overtime 0-0 draw on the road Sunday at Loyola Marymount.
With her eight total saves in 200 minutes of action, Rogers dropped her season goals-against-average more than half a point, improving from 2.07 to 1.53 following Sunday's scoreless tie.
Isleib Continues to Find the Mark...
Junior midfielder Kelly Isleib has netted the game-winning goal in both of Utah's victories this year. With her goal against Utah State Friday night, the Park City, Utah, native upped her season total to four goals, placing her in the top 10 in the conference rankings in goals, goals per game, points, points per game and game-winning goals.
Incidentally, Isleib is following exactly the opposite pattern this year from that of the 2007 season. She did not find the back of the net last year until the 18th game of the season, but racked up 12 assists in that time period. Thus far she has four goals but no assists to her credit in 2008.
Isleib entered the year needing just six helpers to become the all-time career leader in assists at Utah. She already stands in third place in that category with 17, and is chasing the career mark of 22 held by Amanda Feigt (2003-06). Last year she set a new school record for assists in a single season, dishing out 13.
Skeen Nets Her First Career Goal...
Sophomore defender Morgan Skeen (Coto de Caza, Calif.) scored her first career goal last Friday night against Utah State, effectively closing the door on the Aggies as she put Utah up by a 2-0 score. Skeen has exhibited her defensive quality on the right side this year and has also shown the ability to get forward and be involved in the Ute attack, supplying Isleib with the game-winning assist at UNC Greensboro earlier this year.
Skeen now has one goal and two assists for her career, bringing her point total to four.
She Sets `Em Up, Utes Knock `Em Down...
The season statistics sheet has yet to do justice by sophomore forward Lauren Hair. Though she remains with only one assist to her credit, Hair has been one of the most dangerous offensive players for the Utes thus far.
In the 3-2 loss at Oregon last weekend, Hair got behind the Ducks' defense and was taken down in the box, drawing a penalty kick that Katy Reineke drilled home. Shortly thereafter, Hair drew another foul just outside the penalty box, which, after her first effort struck the wall, Kelly Isleib one-timed into the back of the net to give the Utes a brief 2-1 lead.
Earlier this season, Hair was responsible for feeding Morgan Skeen, who was credited with the game-winning assist on Kelly Isleib's double-overtime goal at UNC Greensboro in the Utes' only win. Hair also made herself known against No. 19 Georgia, beating the Bulldogs' All-SEC center back one-on-one, to set up multiple scoring opportunities that the Utes couldn't capitalize on.
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