Utah Soccer Welcomes UW, No. 7 WSU

Thursday, October 4

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

Washington

Buy Tickets

10/2/2018 10:45 AM | Soccer

Soccer Notes - Week 8

Utes play first home games against Pac-12 foes

Utah vs Washington
Date: Thursday, October 4
Location: Ute Field
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Stream: UtahUtes.com
Live Stats: UtahUtes.com
Promotion: Taco Thursday

Utah vs No. 7 Washington State
Date: Sunday, October 7
Location: Ute Field
Kickoff: 12 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Mountain
Live Stream: Pac-12.com
Live Stats: UtahUtes.com
Promotion: Daddy Daughter Day

KICKOFF
Utah Soccer prepares for its first home games in Pac-12 play this weekend. The Utes open with Washington on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then host No. 7 Washington State at noon on Sunday.

QUICK KICKS
- Paola van der Veen has scored five times this year to pace the team and rank among the top 10 scorers in the Pac-12.
- Carly Nelson is second among Pac-12 goalkeepers with 45 saves this season
- Seven Utes have started every game this season; Haylee Cacciacarne, Holly Daugirda, Aleea Gwerder, Hailey Skolmoski, Hailey Stodden, Nelson and Van der Veen

WEEKEND RECAP
After falling in overtime at Arizona, the Utes responded with a solid 2-0 victory at Arizona State. Paola van der Veen opened the scoring with 15th goal of her career and Jessica Hixson netted her first of the season to seal it. It was Utah's first win ever in Tempe.

TOP 10 TUSSLES
Since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, this will be Utah's 17th game against a conference foe ranked in the Top 10. The Utes are 1-10-5 in those games, 1-4-4 at home with the victory occurring in 2016 against No. 9 UCLA (2-0).

SKOLMOSKI SOARING UP CHARTS
Hailey Skolmoski scored the 11th game-winner of her career in a 1-0 win over Nevada. She moved into fifth place in Utah history with the 26th goal of her career, matching Jacki Doman (1995-96). Skolmoski is currently second on the team with four goals this season.

Skolmoski, the first and only Ute earn First Team All-Pac-12, now needs four goals to catch Shauna Gurr-Bingham (1999-2002) for fourth place in Utah history. The senior striker was named to the MAC Herman Watch List last season and is a NSCAA All-Pacific Region honoree, CoSIDA All-Academic First team selection and US U23 Women's National Team call up.

PO PICKS UP PAIR OF HONORS
Paola van der Veen was an All-Pac-12 performer last season and named All-West Region by the United Soccer Coaches.

A native of The Netherlands, Van der Veen responded to an injury-plagued sophomore season with an outstanding junior year. Van der Veen finished fourth in the conference with eight goals and fifth in the league with 20 points, pacing the Utes in both categories.

This was the second Pac-12 postseason honor for Van der Veen. She earned a spot on the All-Freshman team in 2015 when she paced Utah with six assists, ranking sixth in the Pac-12.

SERIES HISTORY
Utah is 5-6 vs. Washington, 3-2 at Ute Field. Last season, the Utes lost 2-0 in Seattle. The last game on this field saw the Utes pick up a 1-0 win. In fact, in all seven Pac-12 meetings, the victor has shut out the losing team.

The Utes are 7-6-1 vs. Washington State, 4-3 at Ute Field. The Cougars won in Pullman last season, 3-0 but the Utes got the win here in 2016 on a Hailey Skolmoski strike with five minutes remaining. The winning team in three of the last five meetings has scored three goals or more.