Deseret First Duel Set for Friday

Friday, September 8

Provo, Utah

7:00 PM

University of Utah

Brigham Young

9/5/2017 3:47 PM | Soccer

Game Notes

Utes then travel to No. 11 Duke on Monday

Utah at BYU
Date: Friday, Sept. 8
Location: Provo, Utah
Kickoff: 7 p.m. MT

Utah at No. 11 Duke
Date: Monday, Sept. 11
Location: Durham, N.C.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET

KICKOFF
No. 21 Utah Soccer stays on the road for a pair of big contests this weekend. The Utes will head down to Provo for a Friday night contest at BYU as the Deseret First Duel kicks off at 7 p.m. Next, Utah travels across the country for a contest at No. 11 Duke on Monday evening at 7 p.m. ET

QUICK KICKS
- Utah ranks No. 6 in the nation, averaging 3.4 goals per game and is second in the nation, averaging 4.4 assists per contest
- With four goals in the last three games, Paola van der Veen ranks ninth in the nation with 12 points and 10^th nationally with six goals
- Hailey Skolmoski ranks third in the nation in goals scored (six) and fifth in points (13); her four goals and nine points vs. North Dakota State matched Amy Kofoed's program marks set in 2001
- Utah matched the school record for goals in a match during its 9-0 victory over NDSU (Illinois State, 1996).
- Skolmoski notched the 11th hat trick in Utah history and first since Lauren Field vs. Baylor in 2003.
- The 11 assists and 29 points for the squad also surpassed the previous marks set during a 2001 contest vs. Wyoming.
- Haylee Cacciacarne and Holly Daugirda each have three assists to pace the Utes, tied for second among all Pac-12 players.

?????SKOLMOSKI SELECTED TO HERMANN WATCH LIST
Utah junior forward Hailey Skolmoski has been named to the 2017 MAC Hermann Watch List.

Last season, she was named to the NSCAA All-Pacific Region First Team and also became the first Ute to ever earn First Team All Pac-12 honors. Her 13 goals were the most for any Ute since 2007 and she also netted seven game-winners.

An excellent student that earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, Skolmoski was also invited to play for the U-23 Women's National Team this summer.

The Riverton native started all 14 games during her freshman year as a defender until suffering a season-ending injury.

The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States' top male and female college soccer players.

DEFENSIVE CORPS BACK FOR MORE
Aleea Gwerder, Tavia Leachman and Natalee Wells helped this team's transformation by creating a solid defensive corps as freshman and combined with senior Janie Kearl allowed only 15 goals in its 22 contests (0.68 GAA, 14th nationally) with 11 shutouts to its credit. This season, they are all back and rank fourth in the Pac-12, allowing just 0.58 goals per game.

Goalkeeper Carly Nelson, a freshman from Lindon, was stepping up in goal during 2016 with three shutouts to her credit before suffering an injury and being replaced in the starting lineup. A Deseret News two-time First Team All-State goalkeeper she helped Timpanogos reach the 4A state title game three years in a row.

THE DESERET DUEL
Friday's matchup between Utah and BYU will mark the first contest of the 2017-18 Deseret First Duel rivalry series. This is the 11th year of the rivalry series that includes each sport where Utah and BYU compete head-to-head during regular-season play.

The Deseret First Duel uses a system that awards points to the winner of each competition. A team trophy will be awarded to the individual winner in 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.

Utah won last season's competition and has captured it four of the last five years. The school that wins the head-to-head competition in each sport is also awarded $1,000 by Deseret First Credit Union for its student-athlete scholarship fund. The university that wins the most sports at the end of the season will receive an additional $5,000 from Deseret First for its athletic scholarship fund

SERIES HISTORIES
Utah is 7-21-1 all-time against the Cougars and 3-12-1 away from home. Utah's last win in Provo occurred in 2007, which was also the last time Utah beat a ranked opponent on its home field.

Utah is 41-29-2 all-time against in-state foes, 15-17-2 away from Ute Field. It is also 18-38-7 vs. teams from the West Coast Conference and after losing at Loyola Marymount last weekend, is 8-22-5 away from home.

This will be the first meeting between Utah and Duke. The Utes are 1-1 against foes from the ACC, with both contests away from home. Utah suffered a 2-1 overtime loss at No. 21 Wake Forest in 2008 but defeated No. 10 FSU in last year's NCAA Tournament Second Round.

The road trip in '08 was the only visit to the Tarheel State with a 2-1 win at UNC Greensboro concluding the weekend.