Completed Event: Soccer versus BYU on October 30, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2

Soccer
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9/28/2009 12:00 AM | Soccer
Sept. 28, 2009
Matchweek 7 Notes in PDF Format ![]()
This Week's Action...
The Utah soccer team (5-6-1) opens up Mountain West Conference play at rival BYU Saturday at 8 p.m. MT in Provo, Utah.
The Utes will be looking for a fresh start to the second half of the season, hoping to snap a two-match losing skid that is part of a 1-6-1 stretch over the last eight games. The Cougars are riding a five-game winning streak, most recently topping Utah State, 3-0.
The BYU match is the only game on the slate for Utah this week. BYU will take on Oregon Thursday in Provo.
The All-Time Series...
Utah trails the all-time series with the Cougars, holding a 5-15-1 record. However, the Utes have found a good deal of success on BYU's home field, posting a better record there than they have on their own pitch or on neutral fields, with a 3-4-1 mark. Utah head coach Rich Manning has never lost to BYU in Provo, posting a 3-0-1 record that includes the Utes' first-ever NCAA Tournament win, a 3-2 overtime victory in 2002. Prior to Manning's arrival, Utah was 0-4 on the Cougars' home field.
BYU got the best of Utah twice last year, defeating the Utes by a 1-0 score in the MWC Tournament championship game in Las Vegas, and 5-0 in Salt Lake City during the regular season. The last time they met in Provo, Utah took away a 1-0 win in 2007.
Scouting BYU...
BYU has recorded three wins over NSCAA Top-25 competition, defeating UConn (20), West Virginia (14) in overtime and Oklahoma State (15) in double-overtime. The Cougars' two losses have both come to unranked competition as they fell at home to William & Mary in double-overtime and on the road at Washington State.
Freshman Carlee Payne has provided most of the BYU offense this year, scoring nine of the Cougars' 16 goals. She now has 22 points on nine goals and four assists, and has scored in seven straight games and in eight of BYU's 11 contests. Only two other Cougars have scored multiple goals, with Kassidy Shumway and Jennie Marshall each netting two. Jessica Ringwood has also provided three assists, ranking second behind Payne.
Defending the goal for BYU has been sophomore McKinzie Olson. She has made 26 saves and allowed eight goals for a 0.69 goals-against-average and .765 save percentage, while recording four shutouts.
BYU is coached by Jennifer Rockwood, now in her 15th season at the helm. With a career record of 236-72-22 (.748), all at BYU, she was the only coach in the MWC to rack up 100+ career wins before being joined by Manning (eight years) earlier this year.
The Deseret First Duel...
Saturday night's matchup between Utah and BYU will mark the first contest of the 2009-10 Deseret First Duel rivalry series.
The rivalry series includes competition in the 12 sports the two universities compete in head-to-head during regular-season play. The Deseret First Duel will use a system that awards points to the winner of each head-to-head competition. A team trophy will be awarded to the individual winner of each sport. Points won by the individual sports will count toward each school's overall total. A granite traveling trophy is awarded to the overall series champion each year.
Fans can follow the series at http://utahutes.cstv.com/ot/duel-home.html.
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.
Utes Continue To Get Strong Production From Freshman Class...
In Utah's 2-1 overtime loss to Utah State, freshman midfielder/defender Zoe Van Gorder scored her second headball goal of the season, bringing her into a tie as the team's third-leading scorer.
In the previous contest, a 2-2 draw with Loyola Marymount, freshman forward Hanna Terry scored the game's first goal off an assist from freshman midfielder Stephanie Lemeza. Terry is now tied as the team's second-leading scorer with three goals, while Lemeza is tied for third in assists with two. The tally marked the third time this year that a freshman has linked up with another freshman for a goal, giving the Utes a glimpse at what they believe is a bright future for this crop of newcomers.
With five of the seven freshmen on the roster logging at least one goal or assist, the class as a whole has accounted for six scores and four helpers (16 points), or roughly 29% of the team's total offense. All seven have seen significant playing time with Terry (12 starts), Allie Wisner (10), Lemeza (5) and Van Gorder (1) all cracking the starting lineup.
Defensive Trends...
Utah has held its opponents scoreless on four occaisions this year. However, when allowing at least one goal, Utah's record drops to 1-6-1.
Threatening From Everywhere...
Utah has now scored 20 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 (11), holding midfield (5), center back (2), attacking midfield (1) and outside back (1). Utah has gotten multiple goals from six players, while five others have lit up the scoreboard once.
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 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.
Facing A Tough Schedule...
The Utes have never strayed from their goal of playing a diverse, difficult schedule year-in year-out. According to last week's NSCAA Top-25 Poll, six of Utah's opponents were ranked or receiving votes, listed here with the match date or result if already played: No. 3 UCLA (L, 6-1), No. 9 Santa Clara (W, 1-0), RV Oklahoma State (away, 10/29), RV BYU (away, 10/3), RV Pepperdine (L, 1-0) and RV William & Mary (L, 3-1). At the time of Utah's match at Colorado, the Buffaloes were ranked No. 23 (L, 2-1), but have since fallen out of the top 25. This week's poll has not yet been released.
Utes Tie For Second In Preseason MWC Poll...
Utah has been selected second in the MWC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Utes are predicted to finish behind BYU, who received 49 points and seven of eight first-place votes to capture the top spot. TCU received the only other first-place vote in the poll.
San Diego State and UNLV were predicted to finish in fourth and fifth place with 30 and 28 points, respectively. New Mexico was ranked sixth (18 points), while Wyoming (14 points) and Air Force (7 points) rounded out the top eight.
From the Mind of Manning...
On beginning Mountain West Conference play:
"When you start conference play it's always important to reset yourself. It's the old cliche, everyone starts at 0-0. I think this year's conference race is going to be as exciting as any time I can remember in my eight years here.
"For us, we have collected a lot of information on our team over the last few days. It's time to look at some of our weaknesses, highlight the things we have done well and apply them to this most important part of our season."
On the upcoming rivalry game with BYU:
"The BYU-Utah rivalry is one of the best in women's college soccer. It is always dramatic, it usually goes a long way toward deciding the conference race and it is always played in a special environment. I know that for the players on our team, it is generally one of the best memories they will take away from their college experience, getting to play in these types of games. I certainly don't have to motivate anyone to get ready to play this game. It will be more about competing with confidence and poise in the face of thousands of screaming people.
"BYU is a very athletic team who over the last couple of years, has had a defense that is very difficult to penetrate. We have to keep those factors in mind when we play them. On our side, we have to go with the same principles we have all year, which are playing with confidence, keep the ball and take advantage of our opportunities."