Utah Hosts NCAA Play on Saturday

No. 23 Utah vs. Texas Tech
Date: Saturday, November 12
Location: Ute Field
Kickoff: 1 p.m. MT

This Weekend
Utah soccer will host Texas Tech in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's College Cup. Kick-off is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. This is the fourth time the Utes have hosted a contest during the opening weekend and first occasion since 2006.

Utah, making its seventh appearance in the tournament and second in four years, was one of six teams from the Pac-12 to earn a berth. The Utes placed fourth in the conference this season with its highest point total (22) since joining in 2011. Utah also racked up 11 wins during the regular season, its most since 2008.

The Utes have advanced to the second round of the College Cup twice and if they are able to get past the Red Raiders, they will face Atlantic Coast Conference champion and No. 3 seed Florida State or Southern Conference champion Samford

Postseason Pac-12 Awards
Sophomore forward Hailey Skolmoski became the first Ute to earn First Team status since the school joined in 2011.Senior midfielder Katie Rogers was selected to the second team and gave the Utes a pair of All Pac-12 selections for just the second time ever. Defender Tavia Leachman was appointed to this year's All-Freshman Team marking the sixth-straight season a Utah player has earned a spot on that particular roster

NCAA History
In 2002, head coach Rich Manning's first year at the helm, Utah made its inaugural appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In their opening game, the Utes not only captured their first tournament win, but also captured the first victory over BYU in team history. Utah took an overtime thriller, 3-2, on the Cougars' home field in Provo, Utah.

The Utes advanced through the first round for the second time in 2006, on the back of a 3-2 overtime victory against Idaho State. In both second-round appearances, the Utes' fell to Portland University.

The 2002 NCAA tournament appearance began a streak of five consecutive tournament berths for the Utes as they reached postseason play every year from 2002 to 2006. Utah also hosted first and second round action at Ute Field three times, in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Last Weekend
Utah capped its best season in the Pac-12 with a 1-1 draw at No. 22 Colorado. Hailey Skolmoski scored in the 78th minute to earn the Utes a tie as they finished the conference campaign with just one loss in 11 contests.

Rising in the Rankings
For the second week in a row, the Utes were ranked No. 23 in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Meanwhile, it stayed in the Soccer America National Poll for a fourth-straight week at No. 19. The Utes are currently ranked No. 15 by HeroSports.com, No. 22 by TopDrawerSoccer.com and the team's RPI continues to hold steady at No. 21 in the nation.

Rogers Recognized for Weekly Award
Utah's Katie Rogers was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 1. This is the first weekly honor of Rogers' career and the 12th for Utah Soccer

A three-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection, Rogers moved into a more defensive midfield role last season and has started all but one contest over the last three seasons. The NSCAA Academic All-Region selection has eight goals and 10 assists during her career

Skolmoski Pacing the Pac-12
Utah's Hailey Skolmoski was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Oct. 11, the first Ute to ever achieve this honor on a pair of occasions.

Skolmoski is now in fourth place on the single-season charts with 13 goals this year. That total also ranks 23rd in the nation and is tops among Pac-12 players. She is also the first player to score at least five goals in conference play since Letro in 2006 when the Utes were in the Mountain West.

Her 29 points also pace the conference and her totals are the most for a Utah player since Adele Letro in 2007 (17 G, 39 P). One more point would put her fifth on the single-season scoring list, passing Amy Kofoed (2001) and Katie Tate (2000).

Skolmoski is also having a successful year in the classroom as she was recently named CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 for 2016. Skolmoski was the 2014 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year after scoring a school record 28 goals at Riverton HS and winning a pair of regional titles.

Steady Sophomore Shutting Out Foes
Goalkeeper July Mathias has the fifth-best single-season goals-against average in team history at 0.68, which ranks 29th in the nation. Ashley Mason holds the school record with a 0.30 GAA in 2003. One more shutout from Mathias would place her third on Utah's single-season list with seven.

Freshmen Leading From the Back
Three freshmen, Aleea Gwerder, Tavia Leachman and Natalee Wells have helped this team's transformation by creating a solid defensive corps. Utah has only allowed 13 goals in its 19 contests (0.65 GAA) with 10 shutouts to its credit.

Leachman, a center back, led powerhouse Long Beach Poly to three-consecutive Moore League titles and has played all but 30 minutes this season. Wells was ranked as the no. 5 recruit in the state of Utah by MaxPreps and has moved back from a midfield role at the start of the season to serve as Leachman's partner in the middle.

Gwerder led Washington Premier to a U18 Rainier Challenge championship and is joined on the outside by Janie Kearl a junior who started last season primarily in the midfield. A former First Team All-State selection, she helped lead East HS to a pair of regional championships.

Another newcomer, Holly Daugirda, has also started at outside back for the Utes. She spent her summer in New Zealand where she suited up for the U.S. Under-19 Women's National Team. She was also named the 2015 Utah Gatorade Player of the Year

Goalkeeper Carly Nelson, a freshman from Lindon, was stepping up in goal with three shutouts to her credit before missing the last five games with an injury. A Deseret News two-time First Team All-State goalkeeper she helped Timpanogos reach the 4A state title game three years in a row.

Utah vs. the Big XII
Utah is 9-5-2 against opponents from the Big 12 all-time and have never played the Red Raiders. The Utes are unbeaten in six matches against Big 12 foes on their home field (5-0-1) but have not done so since 2012, a 1-0 win over Texas. Utah earned a pair of ties with Oklahoma during the 2013 and '14 seasons.

The most common opponent for Utah is TCU, who they have played nine times (6-0-3), eight when they played against one another in the Mountain West Conference. Utah has also played Baylor (twice), Kansas and Oklahoma State

NCAA Tournament and Texas Connection
This will be the second-straight opponent from the Lone Star State in the NCAA Tournament for Utah after traveling to College Station and falling 1-0 in overtime to No. 13 Texas A&M in 2013.

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend
Texas Tech and Utah have two common opponents from this season in Arizona and California. The Utes won 2-1 at UA and tied No. 10 Cal, 1-1 in Berkeley. The Red Raiders tied the 'Cats 2-2 and lost to the Golden Bears, 4-0

Glance at Texas Tech
This is Texas Tech's fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance having reached the third round in 2014. The Red Raiders have never been ousted in the first round but have also never played on the road to open the tournament.

Leading the team on offense for Tech this season is Jade King, an All-Freshman conference team member, who has six goals. The Red Raiders have had nine different goal scorers this season, while the defense has been anchored by senior goalkeeper and first team All-Big 12 honoree Lauren Watson. Tech also had sophomore midfielder Gwennie Puente (All-Big 12 second team) & Jordie Harr (All-Big 12 freshman team) earn all-conference nods this season.

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Players Mentioned

Holly Daugirda

Aleea Gwerder

Janie Kearl

Tavia Leachman

July Mathias

Carly Nelson

Katie Rogers

Hailey Skolmoski

Natalee Wells

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