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Thursday, September 26
Salt Lake City, UT
7 p.m.
University of Utah
vs
Iowa State
Utah Soccer Back Home to Host Two Big 12 Rivals
9/24/2024 4:13 PM | Soccer
Utah is back at Ute Field to take on Iowa State and #23 Oklahoma State
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Women's Soccer, 1-2 in conference play, will look to bounce back at home after two conference losses with Iowa State on Thursday night and #23 Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon.
Game Promotions
Thursday's match is the Ute's Dark Mode game, all fans are encouraged to wear black. There will be a black Under Armour Utah Soccer shirt giveaway for the first 150 Utah students through the gates. In honor of both types of football, fans who show their Arizona Football ticket will earn free admission to the game.
Sunday's match is Alumni Night! We will be recognizing alumni during the game for their contributions to Utah soccer throughout the years. In honor of both types of football, fans who show their Arizona Football ticket will earn free admission to the game. There will be a giveaway of Utah Soccer cowbells to the first 125 fans at Ute Field.
Scouting Iowa State
This matchup between the Utes and the Cyclones is the first time these schools will play in program history. Iowa State, coming off two losses, are 1-1-1 on the road this year. Their most recent road game was a win against Kansas, with a goal by Sophia Thomas in the 85", winning 1-0.
Head coach Matt Fannon is in his 5th season at the helm of the Cyclones soccer program and has built a winning program in his short tenure. Coming from Bowling Green, he won three consecutive MAC Coach of the Year titles, he has brought the Cyclones the most conference wins since 2007, in their 2023 season.
Jada Colbert led Iowa State in goals in the 2022-23 season with 4 followed by Mira Emma with 3 of her own. The standout player for the Cyclones last year was their goalie, Jordan Silkowitz, who had 100 saves. The Cyclones lost their two leading scorers and their goalkeeper. Iowa State now consists of a young lineup with only six of their 26 players being seniors.
Scouting Oklahoma State
This is the first time the Utes and Cowgirls will match up in 15 years. The teams met on Oct. 29, 2009 in Stillwater, Oklahoma when the Cowgirls defeated the Utes 3-0, with two goals from Bridget Miller. This will be the Utes' second ranked opponent season, after taking on #10 Utah State on Aug. 28. The Cowgirls are currently on a two-game losing streak and will look to end that against BYU on Thursday, Sept. 26 before coming to Salt Lake. Oklahoma State is 4-0 on the road and has an overall record of 8-2-1, with both of their losses coming from conference play.
Head coach Colin Carmichael is in his 20th season with the Cowgirls and has been a part of the women's soccer program at OSU since its inaugural season in 1996. He currently holds a 259-107-51 (.682) record and has brought his team to the NCAA Tournament 12 times.
Oklahoma State is coming off a 12-8 season where they were led by Logan Heausler and Hannah Chance each with 7 goals. Heausler returned this year and is already leading the team with 5 goals, Chance is no longer with the team following a transfer to Tulsa.
Recently for the Utes
The Utes fell to long-time rival BYU, 2-1 on Sept. 23. After a shaky first half, Utah and BYU start the second half tied at 0. In the 57th minute, the Cougars capitalized on a corner kick to put the first score on the board. Senior forward Katie O'Kane broke through two BYU defenders to steal the ball in the 63rd minute and with a shot into the right side of the net, O'Kane leveled out the game, 1-1. The Cougars reach the net again in the 83rd minute after returning a Utah goal kick, creating a 2-1 deficit that the Utes could not come back from.
Utah fell to the Red Raiders 2-0 at Texas Tech on Sept. 19. This is their first loss on the road and first loss against a Big 12 opponent. This was the first meeting between Utah and the defending Big 12 champions since 2016 and the first half was a focus on defense for both teams. Coming out of halftime, each team had multiple crossbar shots, but Tech was able to squeeze two goals in the 70th and 73rd minute.
Wardle the Warrior
Senior Kasey Wardle has accumulated 13 saves since hitting 100, with five saves against Texas Tech and eight saves against BYU. Wardle's efforts against BYU brings her new season highs in saves, 8, and shots faced, 17.
In her start on Sept. 15 against Idaho State, Wardle's save during the first half, brought her to 100 career saves. Wardle has been in the net seven of the ten matches, tallying 21 saves this season. Her first shutout this season was against Arizona, 1-0, on Sept. 12 for the conference season opener.
Down to the Wildcats
Utah defeated the University of Arizona Wildcats in the schools' Big 12 season opener, 1-0 on Sept. 12 at Ute Field. The last time the Utes met with the Wildcats was on Oct. 29 in Arizona for a Pac-12 conference matchup and Utah fell 1-0 after hitting an own goal.
Tali the Mad Hatter
Taliana Kaufusi recorded her second hat trick of the campaign eight games after the Utes beat Idaho State, 4-1 on Sept. 15. Her first hat trick this season came against Weber State on Sept. 1. Kaufusi is the first Ute to accomplish this feat in 28 years. The first Ute to claim this was Jackie Doman in the 1996 season.
Stacking Up Shots
The Utes have outshot six of their ten opponents this season, accumulating a total of 100 shots. On the pitch with Weber State, the Utes tallied 12 shots, while the Wildcats marked down five. In their match against GCU, they established a heavy advantage in total shots, outshooting their guests by a 14-3 margin. In the win against Idaho State, Utah outshot the Bengals 13-3. Utah could only boast of such a significant advantage in that statistic four times in 2023, the largest being a 32-12 margin in their win over Oregon.
Early Birds
In four of the matches this season, the Utes got on the board within the first 10 minutes. Taliana Kaufusi accomplished this feat against Gonzaga, Grand Canyon and LSU, while Katie O'Kane added a 10th minute goal against Weber State.
Hats Off
On Sept. 1 against Weber State, for the first time on record in program history, two Utes tallied hat tricks in the same match. Both Katie O'Kane and Taliana Kaufusi booted in three goals in a 7-1 rout of the Wildcats. For O'Kane, this marked her second collegiate hat trick, the first coming on Oct. 1, 2023 at Oregon, while it was the first for Kaufusi.
If She Could, She Wood
In the ninetieth minute of Utah's season opener, freshman midfielder Bella Woods earned a free kick off a handball from Gonzaga. With pressure to take the lead of the tied game, Woods's shot curled around the Bulldogs' defenders and into the back of the net, earning the win for the Utes.
Bella Brings Home the Hardware
After her game-winning score against Gonzaga, Woods was recognized as the first Big 12 Freshman of the Week of 2024. She's the first Ute to earn a conference weekly award since Katie O'Kane in Oct. of 2023.
2024 Utah Women's Soccer Roster
Coach Hideki Nakada has assembled a squad that consists of 13 returners and 12 newcomers. The list of players back in Utah Red include 2023 leading scorer Katie O'Kane and Taliana Kaufusi, who topped the team in goals in 2022. Brooklyn Blaylock and 2023 assists leader Kelly Bullock have also returned after starting all 20 matches a season ago, as has Kasey Wardle, who finished as one of the conference leaders in saves as a sophomore.
Among the many new Utes on Nakada's roster are true freshmen Callie Blaylock, Londyn Lovell, Mia Paugh, Siena Zunino, Katie Callaway and Bella Ganiere. The Utah staff also added six transfers, including sophomore Landen Matthews, junior Erin Gibbs, senior Devi Dudley and graduate students Grace Watkins, Rachel Bastone and Ava Hetzel.
NCAA Appearances
The Utes are heading into 2024 aiming for their ninth NCAA Tournament berth and their first since 2019. Utah's best showing the national postseason occurred in 2016, when victories over Texas Tech and Florida State propelled them to the Sweet 16.
New Conference, Same Utes
The 2024 campaign will be Utah's first as members of the Big 12, the fourth different conference the Utes have competed in since the program's inception as members of the WAC in 1995. Utah posted a 7-8-2 mark during that initial season, then went 13-7 in 1999 when they played in the Mountain West Conference for the first time. Their first foray into Pac-12 play was in 2011, when they finished 10-9-1.
The list of new league foes the Utes will have to contend with include a Texas Tech team that won the conference's regular season title, then reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament, as well as a BYU squad that reached the College Cup for the second time in three seasons. Utah will also be taking the field against Iowa State and Kansas State for the first time in program history.
New Year, New Staff
In addition to the new faces on the field for the Utes, coach Hideki Nakada also added two new coaches to his staff.
Assistant coach Travis Smith officially came on board in January after three seasons at Kansas, where he helped the Jayhawks rack up 20 victories, including wins over squads ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation. Smith also spent time at Brandeis High School, where his pupils included three all-state and seven all-region selections. He helped the squad to a district title in 2018 and, two years later, the Broncos finished the season ranked at No. 9 in the state.
Fellow assistant Jackie Poortinga was hired in May after a busy last several years that included functioning as Phoenix Rising's Director of Goalkeeping, a position she's held since 2021. Her
responsibilities there included overseeing the development of the organization's goalkeepers, developing and implementing the team's goalkeeper training curriculum and identifying talent for the purposes of improving the roster. She also functioned as an Assistant Goalkeeper Coach for the Phoenix Rising FC Men's USL Championship team.
Tickets
Season tickets for 2024 are currently on sale, with single-match tickets going on sale on Aug. 12. Tickets can be purchased by visiting utahtickets.com/soccer/. All ticket sales are cashless and all tickets are digital, including MUSS Tickets. Pre-purchasing tickets will allow fans to obtain the best price. Those on the Utah player pass list will have their tickets added to their account associated with the email provided by the student-athletes.
To ensure a successful experience with digital ticketing, fans are encouraged to download their tickets to the wallet on their smartphone for presentation upon arrival at the stadium gates to expedite the entry process. Ticket sales and customer service will be available at the ticket office near the main entrance.
Next Up
Following the homestand, Utah will have three road games in a row, starting with Arizona State on Oct. 4, followed by a weekend road trip to Kansas, where they will take on Kansas State on Oct. 10 and Kansas on Oct. 13.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UtahWSoccer | Instagram: @UtahWSoccer | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwsoccer), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.
| THURSDAY'S MATCHUP Date | Time: Thursday, Sept. 26 | 7:00 p.m. Utah (4-4-2) vs. Iowa State (3-5-2) Location: Salt Lake City, Utah | Ute Field Live Stats: Click Here TV: ESPN+ Click Here Commentators: Bill Riley and Jay Nolly Twitter Updates: @UtahWSoccer |
SUNDAY'S MATCHUP Date | Time: Sunday, Sept. 29 | 1:00 p.m. Utah (4-4-2) vs. Oklahoma State (8-2-1) Location: Salt Lake City, Utah | Ute Field Live Stats: Click Here TV: ESPN+ Click Here Commentators: Bill Riley and Jay Nolly Twitter Updates: @UtahWSoccer |
Game Promotions
Thursday's match is the Ute's Dark Mode game, all fans are encouraged to wear black. There will be a black Under Armour Utah Soccer shirt giveaway for the first 150 Utah students through the gates. In honor of both types of football, fans who show their Arizona Football ticket will earn free admission to the game.
Sunday's match is Alumni Night! We will be recognizing alumni during the game for their contributions to Utah soccer throughout the years. In honor of both types of football, fans who show their Arizona Football ticket will earn free admission to the game. There will be a giveaway of Utah Soccer cowbells to the first 125 fans at Ute Field.
Scouting Iowa State
This matchup between the Utes and the Cyclones is the first time these schools will play in program history. Iowa State, coming off two losses, are 1-1-1 on the road this year. Their most recent road game was a win against Kansas, with a goal by Sophia Thomas in the 85", winning 1-0.
Head coach Matt Fannon is in his 5th season at the helm of the Cyclones soccer program and has built a winning program in his short tenure. Coming from Bowling Green, he won three consecutive MAC Coach of the Year titles, he has brought the Cyclones the most conference wins since 2007, in their 2023 season.
Jada Colbert led Iowa State in goals in the 2022-23 season with 4 followed by Mira Emma with 3 of her own. The standout player for the Cyclones last year was their goalie, Jordan Silkowitz, who had 100 saves. The Cyclones lost their two leading scorers and their goalkeeper. Iowa State now consists of a young lineup with only six of their 26 players being seniors.
Scouting Oklahoma State
This is the first time the Utes and Cowgirls will match up in 15 years. The teams met on Oct. 29, 2009 in Stillwater, Oklahoma when the Cowgirls defeated the Utes 3-0, with two goals from Bridget Miller. This will be the Utes' second ranked opponent season, after taking on #10 Utah State on Aug. 28. The Cowgirls are currently on a two-game losing streak and will look to end that against BYU on Thursday, Sept. 26 before coming to Salt Lake. Oklahoma State is 4-0 on the road and has an overall record of 8-2-1, with both of their losses coming from conference play.
Head coach Colin Carmichael is in his 20th season with the Cowgirls and has been a part of the women's soccer program at OSU since its inaugural season in 1996. He currently holds a 259-107-51 (.682) record and has brought his team to the NCAA Tournament 12 times.
Oklahoma State is coming off a 12-8 season where they were led by Logan Heausler and Hannah Chance each with 7 goals. Heausler returned this year and is already leading the team with 5 goals, Chance is no longer with the team following a transfer to Tulsa.
Recently for the Utes
The Utes fell to long-time rival BYU, 2-1 on Sept. 23. After a shaky first half, Utah and BYU start the second half tied at 0. In the 57th minute, the Cougars capitalized on a corner kick to put the first score on the board. Senior forward Katie O'Kane broke through two BYU defenders to steal the ball in the 63rd minute and with a shot into the right side of the net, O'Kane leveled out the game, 1-1. The Cougars reach the net again in the 83rd minute after returning a Utah goal kick, creating a 2-1 deficit that the Utes could not come back from.
Utah fell to the Red Raiders 2-0 at Texas Tech on Sept. 19. This is their first loss on the road and first loss against a Big 12 opponent. This was the first meeting between Utah and the defending Big 12 champions since 2016 and the first half was a focus on defense for both teams. Coming out of halftime, each team had multiple crossbar shots, but Tech was able to squeeze two goals in the 70th and 73rd minute.
Wardle the Warrior
Senior Kasey Wardle has accumulated 13 saves since hitting 100, with five saves against Texas Tech and eight saves against BYU. Wardle's efforts against BYU brings her new season highs in saves, 8, and shots faced, 17.
In her start on Sept. 15 against Idaho State, Wardle's save during the first half, brought her to 100 career saves. Wardle has been in the net seven of the ten matches, tallying 21 saves this season. Her first shutout this season was against Arizona, 1-0, on Sept. 12 for the conference season opener.
Down to the Wildcats
Utah defeated the University of Arizona Wildcats in the schools' Big 12 season opener, 1-0 on Sept. 12 at Ute Field. The last time the Utes met with the Wildcats was on Oct. 29 in Arizona for a Pac-12 conference matchup and Utah fell 1-0 after hitting an own goal.
Tali the Mad Hatter
Taliana Kaufusi recorded her second hat trick of the campaign eight games after the Utes beat Idaho State, 4-1 on Sept. 15. Her first hat trick this season came against Weber State on Sept. 1. Kaufusi is the first Ute to accomplish this feat in 28 years. The first Ute to claim this was Jackie Doman in the 1996 season.
Stacking Up Shots
The Utes have outshot six of their ten opponents this season, accumulating a total of 100 shots. On the pitch with Weber State, the Utes tallied 12 shots, while the Wildcats marked down five. In their match against GCU, they established a heavy advantage in total shots, outshooting their guests by a 14-3 margin. In the win against Idaho State, Utah outshot the Bengals 13-3. Utah could only boast of such a significant advantage in that statistic four times in 2023, the largest being a 32-12 margin in their win over Oregon.
Early Birds
In four of the matches this season, the Utes got on the board within the first 10 minutes. Taliana Kaufusi accomplished this feat against Gonzaga, Grand Canyon and LSU, while Katie O'Kane added a 10th minute goal against Weber State.
Hats Off
On Sept. 1 against Weber State, for the first time on record in program history, two Utes tallied hat tricks in the same match. Both Katie O'Kane and Taliana Kaufusi booted in three goals in a 7-1 rout of the Wildcats. For O'Kane, this marked her second collegiate hat trick, the first coming on Oct. 1, 2023 at Oregon, while it was the first for Kaufusi.
If She Could, She Wood
In the ninetieth minute of Utah's season opener, freshman midfielder Bella Woods earned a free kick off a handball from Gonzaga. With pressure to take the lead of the tied game, Woods's shot curled around the Bulldogs' defenders and into the back of the net, earning the win for the Utes.
Bella Brings Home the Hardware
After her game-winning score against Gonzaga, Woods was recognized as the first Big 12 Freshman of the Week of 2024. She's the first Ute to earn a conference weekly award since Katie O'Kane in Oct. of 2023.
2024 Utah Women's Soccer Roster
Coach Hideki Nakada has assembled a squad that consists of 13 returners and 12 newcomers. The list of players back in Utah Red include 2023 leading scorer Katie O'Kane and Taliana Kaufusi, who topped the team in goals in 2022. Brooklyn Blaylock and 2023 assists leader Kelly Bullock have also returned after starting all 20 matches a season ago, as has Kasey Wardle, who finished as one of the conference leaders in saves as a sophomore.
Among the many new Utes on Nakada's roster are true freshmen Callie Blaylock, Londyn Lovell, Mia Paugh, Siena Zunino, Katie Callaway and Bella Ganiere. The Utah staff also added six transfers, including sophomore Landen Matthews, junior Erin Gibbs, senior Devi Dudley and graduate students Grace Watkins, Rachel Bastone and Ava Hetzel.
NCAA Appearances
The Utes are heading into 2024 aiming for their ninth NCAA Tournament berth and their first since 2019. Utah's best showing the national postseason occurred in 2016, when victories over Texas Tech and Florida State propelled them to the Sweet 16.
New Conference, Same Utes
The 2024 campaign will be Utah's first as members of the Big 12, the fourth different conference the Utes have competed in since the program's inception as members of the WAC in 1995. Utah posted a 7-8-2 mark during that initial season, then went 13-7 in 1999 when they played in the Mountain West Conference for the first time. Their first foray into Pac-12 play was in 2011, when they finished 10-9-1.
The list of new league foes the Utes will have to contend with include a Texas Tech team that won the conference's regular season title, then reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament, as well as a BYU squad that reached the College Cup for the second time in three seasons. Utah will also be taking the field against Iowa State and Kansas State for the first time in program history.
New Year, New Staff
In addition to the new faces on the field for the Utes, coach Hideki Nakada also added two new coaches to his staff.
Assistant coach Travis Smith officially came on board in January after three seasons at Kansas, where he helped the Jayhawks rack up 20 victories, including wins over squads ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation. Smith also spent time at Brandeis High School, where his pupils included three all-state and seven all-region selections. He helped the squad to a district title in 2018 and, two years later, the Broncos finished the season ranked at No. 9 in the state.
Fellow assistant Jackie Poortinga was hired in May after a busy last several years that included functioning as Phoenix Rising's Director of Goalkeeping, a position she's held since 2021. Her
responsibilities there included overseeing the development of the organization's goalkeepers, developing and implementing the team's goalkeeper training curriculum and identifying talent for the purposes of improving the roster. She also functioned as an Assistant Goalkeeper Coach for the Phoenix Rising FC Men's USL Championship team.
Tickets
Season tickets for 2024 are currently on sale, with single-match tickets going on sale on Aug. 12. Tickets can be purchased by visiting utahtickets.com/soccer/. All ticket sales are cashless and all tickets are digital, including MUSS Tickets. Pre-purchasing tickets will allow fans to obtain the best price. Those on the Utah player pass list will have their tickets added to their account associated with the email provided by the student-athletes.
To ensure a successful experience with digital ticketing, fans are encouraged to download their tickets to the wallet on their smartphone for presentation upon arrival at the stadium gates to expedite the entry process. Ticket sales and customer service will be available at the ticket office near the main entrance.
Next Up
Following the homestand, Utah will have three road games in a row, starting with Arizona State on Oct. 4, followed by a weekend road trip to Kansas, where they will take on Kansas State on Oct. 10 and Kansas on Oct. 13.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UtahWSoccer | Instagram: @UtahWSoccer | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwsoccer), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.
Players Mentioned
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/ SoccerCrimson Corner with Bill Riley - Urban Meyer
Wednesday, September 17
Utah Soccer's Grace Watkins - ESPN+ Feature
Sunday, September 14
Utah Soccer's Devi Dudley - ESPN+ Feature
Thursday, September 11
Utah Soccer's Ava Hetzel - ESPN+ Feature
Monday, September 08