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Utah Soccer Preparing For MWC Tournament
11/2/2009 12:00 AM | Soccer
Nov. 2, 2009
This Week's Action...
The No. 3-seeded Utah soccer team (9-9-2, 4-2-1 MWC) takes on No. 6 seed TCU in the first round of the MWC Tournament in Provo, Utah, Wednesday at 12 p.m. MT. All games will be played at South Field on the campus of BYU. Should the Utes advance, they will take on No. 2 seed San Diego State in the semifinals, Thursday at 12 p.m. The league championship game will be played at 12 p.m. Saturday.
The All-Time Series...
Utah holds a 4-3 all-time record against TCU. In their last meeting, Utah captured a 3-1 victory at Ute Field on Oct. 15. The Ute goals were scored by sophomore forward Erin Dalley (Centerville, Utah), senior midfielder Kelly Isleib (Park City, Utah) and freshman forward Hanna Terry (Park City, Utah). Kaitlyn Reynolds was the goal-scorer for TCU.
The only other neutral-site meeting between the Utes and Frogs was in last year's MWC Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas, where the U. captured a 2-1 overtime victory on a TCU own-goal less than one minute into the extra frame.
Scouting The Opposition...
TCU - The Horned Frogs come into the MWC Tournament as the No. 6 seed, finishing conference play with six points from a 2-5-0 league record, edging UNLV for the final tournament berth. TCU finished the year with a 9-9-0 overall mark after losing four of its last five contests. In their last outing, the Frogs fell at home to San Diego State, the regular season league runner-up, by a 4-1 score.
Leading the Frog attack all season was sophomore forward Jordan Calhoun, with eight goals and six assists for 22 points on the year, while senior forward Lizzy Karoly had also chipped in five goals and one assist for 11 points. However, neither of them registered a point in conference play. In MWC games, junior forward Jackie Torda netted a pair of goals, while five other Frogs found the back of the net once.
Defensively, junior goalkeeper Kelsey Walters started 15 of TCU's 18 games in the net, including all seven MWC games. She finished the regular season with 54 saves and 28 goals allowed, posting a save percentage of .659 and a goals-against-average of 1.82, en route to a 7-8-0 record with two shutouts.
Dan Abdalla is the head coach of the Horned Frogs, now in his fifth season, and has amassed a record of 43-42-6 (.505) at TCU.
Utah Earns Eighth Top-Three Conference Finish...
With a 3-0 victory against Air Force in the final game of the regular season, Utah earned its eighth top-three finish in conference play and its fifth in eight years under head coach Rich Manning.
Utes Top Air Force in Season Finale...
Dalley scored a pair of goals to lead the Utes in their win against Air Force on Senior Day at Ute Field.
Dalley scored the first two goals of the game on nearly identical plays, finding the back of the net once in each half. Her first goal came from 15 yards out in the 26th minute as junior forward Lauren Hair (Alpine, Utah) played a through ball, which Dalley gathered and struck past Falcon goalkeeper Ariana Green. She delivered her second goal in the 55th minute by finishing off a through ball from Terry, also from 15 yards out.
Senior forward Jen Christoffers (Phoenix, Ariz.) capped the scoring with a terrific header in the 67th minute. Appropriately, the assist came from Isleib, who extended her all-time Utah assists record to 28, a perfect finish to her stellar career.
Sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Turpen (San Clemente, Calif.) recorded her fifth shutout of the year, making three saves. Rogers did not see action in the net due to a wrist injury, but was inserted into the game as a field player, getting several touches on the ball.
With the win, Utah earned a third-place finish in the MWC. The league tournament begins Wednesday in Provo, Utah, where the Utes will take on the No. 6 seed in the first round.
Freshmen Continue Key Contributions...
In Utah's 3-0 victory against Air Force, Terry set up the second goal of the game, giving Utah a comfortable lead. In the previous conference match, a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Wyoming, both of the Utes' goals were set up by freshmen. Defender Natalie Young (Springville, Utah) sent the eventual game-winning ball over to Isleib in the 79th minute for her second helper of the year. On the game-tying goal from Hair, it was midfielder Allie Wisner (Bozeman, Mont.) and midfielder Zoe Van Gorder (Park City, Utah) who played her in.
Terry is tied for third on the squad with 12 points on five goals and two assists. In the 3-1 victory against TCU on Oct. 15, she became the first freshman to register at least five goals in a season since Adele Letro scored seven in 2005.
With five of the seven freshmen on the roster logging at least one goal or assist, the class has accounted for eight scores and eight helpers (24 points), or roughly 28% of the team's total offense. All seven have seen significant playing time with Terry, Wisner, Van Gorder, and Stephanie Lemeza (Mississauga, Ontario) all cracking the starting lineup.
Defensive Trends...
Utah has held its opponents scoreless on six occasions this year, going 6-0 in those contests. When allowing at least one goal, Utah's record drops to 3-9-2.
Threatening From Everywhere...
Utah has now scored 31 goals on the year with 10 different players finding the back of the net. The Utes have had offensive production from all over the field, evidenced by the following goal breakdown by position: forward (19), holding midfield (8), center back (2), attacking midfield (1) and outside back (1). Utah has gotten multiple goals from seven players, while three others have lit up the scoreboard once.
Two Utes Earn Academic All-District Honors...
Sophomore defender Lauren Dudley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Hair were each named ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District selections last week. Dudley was voted to the second team, the third Ute ever to earn that honor, while Hair was a third-team selection.
Manning Notches 100th Career Victory As Utes Shut Out Princeton...
Manning earned his 100th career win with the 2-0 victory against Princeton, all of which have come at Utah. Averaging more than 13.5 wins per year over his previous seven years, Manning looks to become only the second MWC coach ever to hit the century mark, joining BYU's Jennifer Rockwood.
Utah Picks Up First Ranked Win Since 2007...
With the 1-0 victory against No. 19-ranked Santa Clara on Aug. 28, Utah registered its first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 16 BYU in Provo, 1-0, in October of 2007. It was the Utes' first victory over a ranked opponent at home since defeating No. 15 BYU, 1-0, in October of 2006.
Utah's Mountain West Conference History...
Utah captured its first conference title in 1999, the inaugural year of the MWC. The Utes were named co-champions as they finished in a three-way tie with San Diego State and BYU.
Utah's next league title came in 2003, as the Utes swept both the MWC regular-season and tournament championships. Utah went undefeated in conference play for the first time in school history, posting a 6-0-0 record. The Utes then topped BYU by a 2-0 score in the tournament championship match, held in Salt Lake City. The successful 2003 campaign kicked off a string of four straight years in which either the regular season or conference tournament hardware would rest in the Utes' trophy case at season's end.
In 2004, Utah won its second consecutive MWC Tournament championship, advancing past San Diego State in the finals. The match was tied 1-1 following regulation and overtime play, but the Utes eventually conquered the Aztecs in penalty kicks to claim the title.
The 2005 season saw Utah finish atop the MWC standings in the regular season, posting another undefeated conference record at 6-0-1.
With another flawless year in 2006, registering a 7-0-0 record, Utah joined BYU as the only two programs in the MWC's history to post back-to-back unbeaten seasons. Utah and BYU also share the distinction of being the two most successful soccer programs in MWC history. Utah has captured either the regular-season or conference tournament championship five times, while BYU has claimed a title eight times. Both squads have also twice doubled up to sweep both titles in the same year.
From the Mind of Manning...
On playing TCU and possibly SDSU in the MWC Tournament: "I have a lot of respect for TCU's team, they have some tremendous attacking talent. I think Karoly and Calhoun are two of the best forwards in the conference and are capable of scoring a match-winner at any moment. You have to be aware of them as well as a couple others at all times. I always enjoy playing them. They like to attack and it's an open game. I look forward to another good match Wednesday.
"Last year was a perfect example of how things can turn. We went down there and got completely outplayed, then we were really motivated to turn the tables in the tournament a few weeks later. That encapsulates what the MWC tourney is all about. Hopefully we can beat them twice this year."
"If we are able to win on Wednesday, we would really look forward to the opportunity to play San Diego State. I thought during conference play they were one team who really took it to us and I think we would really embrace the chance to try again. They are on hot streak and playing with such confidence, it would be a great challenge for us and something we would want to take on."
On the keys to success in postseason play:
"I think a lot of it boils down to the mental side of the game. You have got to be mentally tough, confident and play with poise. Teams that are able to play in that intense environment are usually the ones who are successful."
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