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Soccer
at Houston
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Sunday, August 26
Irvine, CA
2:00 PM
University of Utah
at
UC Irvine
Photo by: Steve C. Wilson
Utes Ready for Road Trip This Weekend
8/21/2018 9:58 AM | Soccer
Utah at UC Irvine on Sunday afternoon
Utah at UC Irvine
Date: Sunday, August 26
Location: Irvine, Calif.
Kickoff: 1 p.m. PT
Live Stats: UCIrvineSports.com
Utah Soccer is back on the road this weekend for a match at UC Irvine on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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The Utes return seven starters from last year's squad including All-Pac-12 performers Paola van der Veen, Hailey Skolmoski and Tavia Leachman. Utah has 16 players back that saw action last season and adds 12 newcomers to the roster.
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QUICK KICKS
- The next victory for Utah would be the 250th in program history
- Utah ranked fourth in the Pac-12 last season with 27 goals (1.4 per contest)
- Hailey Skolmoski tied for the team lead with Paola van der Veen at eight goals apiece, ranking fourth in the Pac-12
- Utah matched the school record for goals in a match during its 9-0 victory over NDSU last season
- Haylee Cacciacarne led Utah with five assists and also scored Utah's first Pac-12 goal of the season at No. 2 UCLA
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WEEKEND RECAP
The Utes go their first win of the season on Sunday with a 2-0 victory at Weber State. Ireland Dunn got an early goal, the first of her Utah career, and Paola van der Veen capped the scoring in the final 10 minutes.
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Utah was on top of its first opponent, Minnesota, for a majority of the season opener, but lost in gut-wrenching fashion as the Golden Gophers scored with 11 seconds remaining for a 1-0 result.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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UTAH TABBED NINTH IN PRESEASON POLL
The University of Utah soccer team was selected to finish ninth in the Pac-12 Conference this season, according to a preseason poll of the league's coaches
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The Utes return seven starters from last year's squad including All-Pac-12 performers Paola van der Veen, Hailey Skolmoski and Tavia Leachman. Utah has 16 players back that saw action last season and adds 12 newcomers to the roster.
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UTES RACK UP ACADEMIC AWARDS
Utah Soccer placed a pair of student-athletes on the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team and had 16 Utes honored by the conference due to their academic success
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Max Flom (3.99, Political Science) earned First Team honors for a second time. Hailey Skolmoski (3.90, Human Development and Family Studies), who was a First Team selection in 2016, was named to the second team last year.
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Paola van der Veen was honored for the second year in a row while Haylee Cacciacarne, Holly Daugirda, Ireland Dunn, Aleea Gwerder, Tavia Leachman, Carly Nelson, and Kristin Fairbairn were all recognized. Since joining the Pac-12, Utah has 85 all-academic honorees.
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SERIES HISTORY
Utah won the only previous meeting with the Anteaters, 1-0, in 2016. Hailey Skolmoski scored the winner off a feed from Tavia Leachman. The Utes are 16-5-5 against Big West foes, including a 6-1-2 mark on the road. Last season, Utah beat Cal State Fullerton in overtime, 2-1
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Players Mentioned
Midfielder/Defender
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Forward
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Midfielder/Forward
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Defender
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Defender
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Goalkeeper
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Forward
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Midfielder
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