Upcoming Event: Soccer versus Utah Tech on September 11, 2025 at 7 p.m.
7 p.m.
Soccer
vs Utah Tech
Monday, August 18
Orem, UT
7 p.m.
University of Utah
at
Utah Valley
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Soccer
Forward
/ Soccer
Midfielder
/ Soccer
Midfielder
/ Soccer
Forward
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Midfielder
/ Soccer
Midfielder
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Midfielder
/ Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Soccer
Forward
/ Soccer
Midfielder
/ Soccer
Forward
/ Soccer
Midfielder
/ Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
/ Soccer
Photo by: Gonzaga Athletic Department
Utes Look to Build Early Momentum against Utah Valley
8/16/2025 9:04 AM | Soccer
Utah aiming for first 2-0 start since 2017
SALT LAKE CITY – A dramatic, come-from-behind victory is how the 2025 season started for the University of Utah women's soccer team and, just a few days later, they'll have the opportunity to continue adding to that momentum when they visit the Utah Valley Wolverines for a Monday evening fixture that will begin at 7 p.m. at UCCU Stadium in Orem, Utah.
Last Time Out
Utah claimed its first season-opening win on the road since 2017 with a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs in Spokane on Thursday. The Utes topped Gonzaga by the same scoreline a season ago at Ute Field to open the 2024 campaign.
Utah outshot the Bulldogs 13-4 in the opening 45 minutes but went into the half with the score still deadlocked at zero. The Zags got on the board first in the 53rd minute, but freshman Julia Oka evened it up 15 minutes later with a screamer from outside the 18-yard box for her first collegiate goal.
With under 10 minutes remaining, Grace Watkins sent a cross into the box and connected with Kelly Bullock, who headed home her fifth career game-winner. Watkins, who also tallied an assist on Oka's goal, logged her third multi-assist game and her eighth game with multiple points.
Erin Gibbs spent the full 90 minutes in goal, making a pair of saves on 11 total shots.
Scouting the Wolverines
Monday's matchup will serve as the season-opener for Utah Valley. The Wolverines, who have won the WAC regular season title in each of the last three seasons, are picked to finish atop the conference once again this year.
Coach Chris Lemay has turned UVU into a perennial contender in the West, leading them to a 62-26-16 mark since 2020. The Wolverines went unbeaten in conference play last season, posting a 6-0-1 ledger against WAC foes.
Lemay's bunch is paced by graduate student forward Faith Webber, the 2024 WAC Offensive Player of the Year. Webber led the nation in goals per game in 2024 (0.95) and set the program record for goals (18), points (38) and shots on goal (56) in a single season. She was named the 2025 WAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Taylor Nelson was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The pair was joined by Ashley Garcia, Ruby Hladek and Kate Shirts on the preseason all-WAC team.
2025 Outlook
Plenty of familiar faces will be back on the pitch for the Utes in 2025, but Utah soccer fans will also become acquainted with 12 new Utes who've joined the squad over the last several months. Those newcomers will blend into a roster that returns five of the team's top seven scorers from a season ago, as well as the top three players in terms of minutes played.
No Ute spent more time on the field in 2024 than graduate midfielder Devi Dudley, who accumulated 1609 minutes on the pitch and was one of only two Utah returners to start all 19 matches. The other was junior Lilliah Blum, who is also the teams' top returning scorer. The Wisconsin native knocked in a pair of goals, one of which was a game-winner, while piling up seven assists, tied for fifth-most in the Big 12. In the six games in which Blum contributed at least one point in 2024, the Utes posted a 5-0-1 record.
None of the players back in the fold have more career points as a Ute than senior forward Kelly Bullock, who also has yet to miss match since she arrived on campus. Of her seven career goals, five have gone down as game-winners, including both of her tallies in 2024, and Bullock's work on the field was good enough to earn her an All-Big 12 Second-Team spot as a junior.
In goal, the Utes will have three candidates to pick from, with senior Erin Gibbs representing the most experienced option. Gibbs came on board prior to the start of 2024 and was in net for Utah's season-opening triumph over Gonzaga, one five fixtures she appeared in as a junior. One of the two newcomers to the keeper group is sophomore Alexa Malaspina, who posted a 10-5-2 mark in 2024 at UC Colorado Springs that included six clean sheets. Also fighting for time in goal is freshman Emeline McClenahan, who earned her spot on the roster with excellent goalkeeping for Chicago FC.
Senior Class
The Utes have plenty of experience on their roster, which includes seven seniors, Erin Gibbs, Brooklyn Blaylock, Alex Schoenstadt, Kelly Bullock, Ryann Cull, Sophie Bellini and Ali Swensen, and three graduate students, Devi Dudley, Grace Watkins and Ava Hetzel.
Blaylock, Bullock and Cull are all entering their fourth season at Utah and have appeared in 158 total matches during their collegiate careers. Blaylock and Cull have been fixtures on the back line for the Utes, combining for 78 starts, while Bullock is coming off an all-conference season and will add to her total of 52 starts from 2022-24.
Schoenstadt came to Salt Lake City in time for the start of the 2023 season and will be back in action after an injury knocked her out for 2024. Gibbs, Dudley, Watkins and Hetzel are all in their second year with the Utes while Swensen and Bellini will be in their initial Utah campaign.
New Utes
Bellini and Swensen are two of 12 new players Hideki Nakada added to his roster during the offseason, a group comprised of two seniors, one sophomore and nine freshman. Malaspina is the newest addition to the goalkeeper room after starting her career at UC Colorado Springs and defender Madison Encinas also came out of the portal after spending a redshirt year at Baylor.
From the prep ranks, the Utes added goalkeeper Emeline McClenahan, defender Reese Kennel, midfielder and defender Mimi Yamamoto, midfielders Shannon Davidson, Eliza Smith and Addison Lockerby and forwards Julia Oka and Abby Affleck.
Prev-U
The Big 12 Conference released its Big 12 preseason poll last week and the Utes were picked to finish ninth in the league. TCU was picked to win the conference and received 13 of a possible 16 first-place votes after going unbeaten in Big 12 league play a season ago. Texas Tech finished second in the poll with a pair of first place votes.
1. TCU (13) – 223 9. Utah – 112
2. Texas Tech (2) – 202 10. Baylor – 108
3. BYU (1) – 191 11. Arizona State – 98
4. West Virginia – 172 12. UCF – 72
5. Kansas – 167 13. Cincinnati – 57
6. Colorado – 155 14. Iowa State – 40
7. Oklahoma State – 153 15. Houston – 38
8. Arizona – 113 16. K-State – 19
Eliza Smith, Bella Ganiere and Abby Affleck also earned preseason recognition from the conference for their work in the classroom. The trio was named to the 2024-24 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team. Utah led all Big 12 athletic departments with 79 newcomers earning Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team recognition.
Oh Captains, My Captains
Utah will be led by its three graduate students this season. Devi Dudley, Grace Watkins and Ava Hetzel will serve as the team's three captains during the 2025 campaign. The trio has combined to play in 204 collegiate games entering this season.
Show Up, Shut Out
Last season, the Utah defense shined as the season wound down, tallying three-consecutive shutouts to close out the regular season. The Utes shut down Houston (W, 1-0), Baylor (W, 2-0) and Colorado (T, 0-0) in consecutive outings to earn the No. 8 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. It marked the first time since 2022 that a Utah team blanked three opponents in a row and the first time since 2019 that the Utes did so while winning at least two of the games.
Coaches Corner
Last season, head coach Hideki Nakada hired a pair of new assistant coaches in Travis Smith and Jackie Poortinga. The two return for their second seasons with Utah in 2025 and will be joined by new assistant coach Sam Gomez.
Gomez brings with him a wealth of experience that includes time as the Girls Director of Coaching at the Utah Athletic Academy and head coach of the girls soccer team at Highland High School. Gomez has also honed his skills as a coach at Port Orchard FC, Impact United and Kitsap Alliance FC.
Prior to moving into the coaching ranks, he played professionally in the Honduran 1st Division with Real CD Espana, as well as with San Diego 1904 FC in the NISA. This followed a collegiate career at Cal State University Bakersfield, where he was an academic all-conference selection and earned a degree in Kinesiology.
NCAA Tournament History
The Utes enter 2025 aiming to reach the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in school history and the first time since 2019. Utah put together its best postseason finish in 2016, when they forged a path all the way to the Sweet 16.
Series History
Utah has been dominant historically against the Wolverines, boasting a 7-1-1 record against the intrastate foe. The Utes went unbeaten against UVU in the first eight matchups until last season, when the Wolverines won 2-0 in Salt Lake City. Utah has not won in Orem since 2007, as the last meeting on Utah Valley's campus ended in a scoreless tie after two overtime periods.
Scanning the Schedule
The Utes will stay in the state of Utah for the remainder of August. Utah's first home fixture will come on Aug. 21 when they host Westminster at 7 p.m. at Ute Field, the first of 11 home matches for Nakada's club. The Utes will open Big 12 play on Sept. 19 at TCU followed by a home clash with Cincinnati on Sept. 24.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UtahWSoccer | Instagram: @UtahWSoccer | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwsoccer).
| MONDAY'S MATCHUP Date | Time: Monday, Aug. 18 | 7:00 p.m. (MT) Utah (1-0-0) vs. Utah Valley (0-0-0) Location: Orem, Utah | UCCU Stadium Live Stats: Click Here Live Stream: ESPN+ Twitter Updates: @UtahWSoccer |
Last Time Out
Utah claimed its first season-opening win on the road since 2017 with a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs in Spokane on Thursday. The Utes topped Gonzaga by the same scoreline a season ago at Ute Field to open the 2024 campaign.
Utah outshot the Bulldogs 13-4 in the opening 45 minutes but went into the half with the score still deadlocked at zero. The Zags got on the board first in the 53rd minute, but freshman Julia Oka evened it up 15 minutes later with a screamer from outside the 18-yard box for her first collegiate goal.
With under 10 minutes remaining, Grace Watkins sent a cross into the box and connected with Kelly Bullock, who headed home her fifth career game-winner. Watkins, who also tallied an assist on Oka's goal, logged her third multi-assist game and her eighth game with multiple points.
Erin Gibbs spent the full 90 minutes in goal, making a pair of saves on 11 total shots.
Scouting the Wolverines
Monday's matchup will serve as the season-opener for Utah Valley. The Wolverines, who have won the WAC regular season title in each of the last three seasons, are picked to finish atop the conference once again this year.
Coach Chris Lemay has turned UVU into a perennial contender in the West, leading them to a 62-26-16 mark since 2020. The Wolverines went unbeaten in conference play last season, posting a 6-0-1 ledger against WAC foes.
Lemay's bunch is paced by graduate student forward Faith Webber, the 2024 WAC Offensive Player of the Year. Webber led the nation in goals per game in 2024 (0.95) and set the program record for goals (18), points (38) and shots on goal (56) in a single season. She was named the 2025 WAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Taylor Nelson was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The pair was joined by Ashley Garcia, Ruby Hladek and Kate Shirts on the preseason all-WAC team.
2025 Outlook
Plenty of familiar faces will be back on the pitch for the Utes in 2025, but Utah soccer fans will also become acquainted with 12 new Utes who've joined the squad over the last several months. Those newcomers will blend into a roster that returns five of the team's top seven scorers from a season ago, as well as the top three players in terms of minutes played.
No Ute spent more time on the field in 2024 than graduate midfielder Devi Dudley, who accumulated 1609 minutes on the pitch and was one of only two Utah returners to start all 19 matches. The other was junior Lilliah Blum, who is also the teams' top returning scorer. The Wisconsin native knocked in a pair of goals, one of which was a game-winner, while piling up seven assists, tied for fifth-most in the Big 12. In the six games in which Blum contributed at least one point in 2024, the Utes posted a 5-0-1 record.
None of the players back in the fold have more career points as a Ute than senior forward Kelly Bullock, who also has yet to miss match since she arrived on campus. Of her seven career goals, five have gone down as game-winners, including both of her tallies in 2024, and Bullock's work on the field was good enough to earn her an All-Big 12 Second-Team spot as a junior.
In goal, the Utes will have three candidates to pick from, with senior Erin Gibbs representing the most experienced option. Gibbs came on board prior to the start of 2024 and was in net for Utah's season-opening triumph over Gonzaga, one five fixtures she appeared in as a junior. One of the two newcomers to the keeper group is sophomore Alexa Malaspina, who posted a 10-5-2 mark in 2024 at UC Colorado Springs that included six clean sheets. Also fighting for time in goal is freshman Emeline McClenahan, who earned her spot on the roster with excellent goalkeeping for Chicago FC.
Senior Class
The Utes have plenty of experience on their roster, which includes seven seniors, Erin Gibbs, Brooklyn Blaylock, Alex Schoenstadt, Kelly Bullock, Ryann Cull, Sophie Bellini and Ali Swensen, and three graduate students, Devi Dudley, Grace Watkins and Ava Hetzel.
Blaylock, Bullock and Cull are all entering their fourth season at Utah and have appeared in 158 total matches during their collegiate careers. Blaylock and Cull have been fixtures on the back line for the Utes, combining for 78 starts, while Bullock is coming off an all-conference season and will add to her total of 52 starts from 2022-24.
Schoenstadt came to Salt Lake City in time for the start of the 2023 season and will be back in action after an injury knocked her out for 2024. Gibbs, Dudley, Watkins and Hetzel are all in their second year with the Utes while Swensen and Bellini will be in their initial Utah campaign.
New Utes
Bellini and Swensen are two of 12 new players Hideki Nakada added to his roster during the offseason, a group comprised of two seniors, one sophomore and nine freshman. Malaspina is the newest addition to the goalkeeper room after starting her career at UC Colorado Springs and defender Madison Encinas also came out of the portal after spending a redshirt year at Baylor.
From the prep ranks, the Utes added goalkeeper Emeline McClenahan, defender Reese Kennel, midfielder and defender Mimi Yamamoto, midfielders Shannon Davidson, Eliza Smith and Addison Lockerby and forwards Julia Oka and Abby Affleck.
Prev-U
The Big 12 Conference released its Big 12 preseason poll last week and the Utes were picked to finish ninth in the league. TCU was picked to win the conference and received 13 of a possible 16 first-place votes after going unbeaten in Big 12 league play a season ago. Texas Tech finished second in the poll with a pair of first place votes.
1. TCU (13) – 223 9. Utah – 112
2. Texas Tech (2) – 202 10. Baylor – 108
3. BYU (1) – 191 11. Arizona State – 98
4. West Virginia – 172 12. UCF – 72
5. Kansas – 167 13. Cincinnati – 57
6. Colorado – 155 14. Iowa State – 40
7. Oklahoma State – 153 15. Houston – 38
8. Arizona – 113 16. K-State – 19
Eliza Smith, Bella Ganiere and Abby Affleck also earned preseason recognition from the conference for their work in the classroom. The trio was named to the 2024-24 Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team. Utah led all Big 12 athletic departments with 79 newcomers earning Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team recognition.
Oh Captains, My Captains
Utah will be led by its three graduate students this season. Devi Dudley, Grace Watkins and Ava Hetzel will serve as the team's three captains during the 2025 campaign. The trio has combined to play in 204 collegiate games entering this season.
Show Up, Shut Out
Last season, the Utah defense shined as the season wound down, tallying three-consecutive shutouts to close out the regular season. The Utes shut down Houston (W, 1-0), Baylor (W, 2-0) and Colorado (T, 0-0) in consecutive outings to earn the No. 8 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. It marked the first time since 2022 that a Utah team blanked three opponents in a row and the first time since 2019 that the Utes did so while winning at least two of the games.
Coaches Corner
Last season, head coach Hideki Nakada hired a pair of new assistant coaches in Travis Smith and Jackie Poortinga. The two return for their second seasons with Utah in 2025 and will be joined by new assistant coach Sam Gomez.
Gomez brings with him a wealth of experience that includes time as the Girls Director of Coaching at the Utah Athletic Academy and head coach of the girls soccer team at Highland High School. Gomez has also honed his skills as a coach at Port Orchard FC, Impact United and Kitsap Alliance FC.
Prior to moving into the coaching ranks, he played professionally in the Honduran 1st Division with Real CD Espana, as well as with San Diego 1904 FC in the NISA. This followed a collegiate career at Cal State University Bakersfield, where he was an academic all-conference selection and earned a degree in Kinesiology.
NCAA Tournament History
The Utes enter 2025 aiming to reach the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in school history and the first time since 2019. Utah put together its best postseason finish in 2016, when they forged a path all the way to the Sweet 16.
Series History
Utah has been dominant historically against the Wolverines, boasting a 7-1-1 record against the intrastate foe. The Utes went unbeaten against UVU in the first eight matchups until last season, when the Wolverines won 2-0 in Salt Lake City. Utah has not won in Orem since 2007, as the last meeting on Utah Valley's campus ended in a scoreless tie after two overtime periods.
Scanning the Schedule
The Utes will stay in the state of Utah for the remainder of August. Utah's first home fixture will come on Aug. 21 when they host Westminster at 7 p.m. at Ute Field, the first of 11 home matches for Nakada's club. The Utes will open Big 12 play on Sept. 19 at TCU followed by a home clash with Cincinnati on Sept. 24.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UtahWSoccer | Instagram: @UtahWSoccer | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwsoccer).
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Utah Soccer's Ava Hetzel - ESPN+ Feature
Monday, September 08
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Ron McBride
Wednesday, September 03
Utah Women's Soccer Head Coach Hideki Nakada heads into his 5th year - ESPN+ Feature
Tuesday, September 02
Utah Soccer's Kelly Bullock - ESPN+ Feature
Tuesday, September 02