Utah Soccer Opens 2021 Spring Slate Against Rival BYU

Saturday, February 6

Herriman, UT

5:00 PM

University of Utah

Brigham Young

Utah Soccer Opens 2021 Spring Slate Against Rival BYU

2/4/2021 11:30 AM | Soccer

Utah Match Notes

Utes open long-awaited season this Saturday in Herriman.

SALT LAKE CITY – After much anticipation, the Utah women's soccer team will finally get to take the pitch and will have a big match-up to kick off its spring season as it battles in-state rival BYU on Saturday, Feb. 6. First kick is set for 5 p.m. (MT) between the Utes and Cougars at Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman, Utah.

Fans can tune in live to BYUtv or watch on the BYUtv App to catch the Utes and Cougars Saturday night. Live stats will be available here.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Utah soccer earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 11th-consecutive season and 19th overall back in September. The team earned a 3.56 grade point average to mark the highest amongst Pac-12 women's programs in the 2019-20 season. Since taking over the program in 2002, Manning's teams have earned team academic distinction from the coaches association in 14-of-19 seasons under his guidance. Utah soccer also achieved a perfect Graduation Success Rate and had the best or tied for the best GSR among its Pac-12 peers, and the overall Division I aggregate GSR score. In the 2020 fall semester, Utah posted its highest team semester GPA in program history – a 3.668.

FRESH FACES
After losing 14 letterwinners from a year ago, Utah soccer added 10 freshmen to this year's squad. New Utes looking to make their debuts are freshmen Hailey Povilus, Kennedy Carter, Erin Bridges, Harper Hughes, Kaylee Coatney, Ragan Fuller, Avery Brady, McKenna Baillie, Megan Quiggle and Taliana Kaufusi.

Povilus and Bridges were teammates at East High School in Salt Lake City, while Kaufusi is also a local standout and played at Highland High School. Rounding out the Utahns is Fuller from American Fork. Carter, Hughes and Quiggle come to Salt Lake City from California. Baillie hails from Colorado, Brady from Missouri, and Coatney from Washington.

RUN IT BACK
The Utes are coming off their eighth NCAA tournament appearance after the 2019 campaign. Utah was one of nine teams in the Pac-12 to earn a berth to the NCAA Championships last season after closing the year with a win over No. 21 Washington and Colorado. Seniors Tavia Leachman and Carly Nelson capped off their Ute careers earning All-Conference honors with Leachman tabbed as a second-team honoree and Nelson landing on the third-team. The duo was also named to the All-Pacific Region team. The 2019 team was led by six senior starters that carried the bulk of minutes for Utah. Returner Hailey Stodden started every game of the season, while returners Courtney Talbot and Jessica Hixson both started 17 games in the season that ended in an 8-9-4 record following the NCAA First Round exit.

INCOMING CLASS
Utah head coach Rich Manning signed five players to NLIs this past fall for the upcoming 2021 season. The five-person class features a pair of Utahns in Maryn Granger and Megan Lusher, a Californian in Baylie Jackson and Oregonian in Sahve Beller.

Beller (FOR), Jackson (FOR) and Lusher (FOR) all play on the offensive front while Granger (DEF) and Wardle (GK) play on the defensive end.

BATTLE WITH BYU
Utah is 7-23-2 all-time against BYU and 0-4 in neutral-site contests. Utah and BYU have not met at a neutral site since the 2008 season when the teams went head-to-head in the Mountain West Conference tournament. Last season, BYU came away victorious with a 2-0 win in Provo.

Utah's last win in the series was back in 2014 at Ute Field when senior Katie Taylor scored the deciding penalty in the 84th minute of a 1-0 contest. The Utes took a double-overtime draw against the Cougars in 2017, finishing the game 1-1 after Eden Jacobsen, a senior this year for Utah, scored the sole goal for Utah.

UP NEXT
The Utes will stay in-state as it travels south to take on Dixie State next Thursday, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m. The Trailblazers are in the first year of their transition to Division I and a member of the Western Athletic Conference.

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