Pac-12 Play Starts at Home Against USC for Utah Soccer

Friday, September 22

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

USC

Photo by: Liv Medivitz/Utah Athletics

Pac-12 Play Starts at Home Against USC for Utah Soccer

9/21/2023 12:52 PM | Soccer

Utes and Trojans to square off at Ute Field at 7 p.m.

SALT LAKE CITY – After finishing the non-conference portion of their schedule strong with a road win at Colorado State, the University of Utah women's soccer team is about to dive into Pac-12 competition, starting at home on Friday, when they'll host the USC Trojans at 7 p.m. at Ute Field.

FRIDAY'S MATCHUP
Date | Time: Friday, Sept. 22 | 7:00 p.m.
Utah (4-2-3) vs. USC (4-2-0)
Location: Salt Lake City | Ute Field
Live Stats: Click Here
Live Stream: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @UtahWSoccer

Game Day Promotions
Friday's affair will be Utah's Dark Mode match and all fans in attendance are encouraged to wear black. As part of Homecoming, it will also be Alumni Night at Ute Field and all Utah soccer alumns can attend the match free of charge. The first 500 fans through the gates can get their hands on free yellow and red cards as well.

Scouting USC
The Trojans started the season with a pair of impressive victories, including a 3-1 toppling of No. 3 Duke on the road. They have since split four contests to get to 4-2 and enter Friday's fixture coming off a 3-0 shutout of New Mexico State. That counted as USC's third shutout of the season, while their offense has now tallied nine goals in the squad's last three matches.

No one on the Trojans' roster has spent more time on the scoresheet than junior Kayla Colbert, who has collected at least one point in every match but one, with her three goals and three assists giving her a total of nine points, tied for fifth most in the Pac-12. Colbert has helped fuel a USC attack that ranks third in the conference in average goals per game with a mark of 2.17.

In goal, coach Jane Alukonis has given three new keepers time between the posts, but freshman Hannah Poulter has been the starter in five of USC's six tilts. Poulter's season-high of five stops came in her squad's win over Duke and she was also in goal for shutouts of Michigan and Purdue, but sophomore Hannah Dickinson got the nod in her team's most recent outing. Dickinson made three saves against New Mexico State before giving way to Bella Grust, who played the last nine minutes in her team's 3-0 triumph.

All Time Against USC
Friday's kick-off will commence the 17th meeting between these programs, with USC owning a 9-3-4 edge through the first 16 showdowns. The Trojans took six of eight get the series started, but the last three editions of the rivalry have resulted in a win for each side, as well as a draw. The last Ute victory over USC came in 2020, when Utah upset the No. 14 Trojans 2-0, thanks to three Chelsea Peterson saves and two Anna Escobedo goals.

Last Time Against USC
Neither side could find the back of the net when these squads met in 2022, as 13 combined shots being taken but only two total on-target tries. Kasey Wardle and Anna Smith both finished with clean sheets in the 0-0 tie.

Racking Up Results on the Road
For the first time in program history, the Utes have gone undefeated through their first six road fixtures. They kept that streak alive with a draw at Weber State on Thursday and a 1-0 Sunday win at Colorado State. The program's previous best start on the road involved four matches without a defeat.

Looking at the Pac-12 Leaderboard
One glance at the Pac-12's statistical leaderboard will uncover several Utes in the top five in various categories. No one in the conference has more assists than Courtney Brown, who's accumulated four, while Taliana Kaufusi has picked up four goals tied for third in the league. In goal, Kasey Wardle and Evelyn Vitali have piled up 50 saves, the Pac-12's highest total.

Bullock's Early Breakthrough
Kelly Bullock put the Utes on the board in the third minute in what became a 5-0 trouncing of Utah Valley on Aug. 30. Bullock's score at the 2:21 mark goes down as the program's earliest goal since Natalie Vukic's tally 40 seconds into a match against Utah State in 2017.

First Half Fireworks
Utah's attack was also responsible for three first period tallies in their rout of the Wolverines. Those three first half scores represented their highest total in the opening 45 minutes since they scored four times in the first half against North Dakota State on Aug. 27, 2017.

Ring the Bella
Bella Woods tallied Utah's first goal of the season in the team's Aug. 17 meeting with N.C. State. That made her the first Utah freshman to register the program's season-opening score since Erin Dalley in 2007. Woods also picked up an assist in the Utes' win over College of Charleston.

NCAA Tournament History
The Utes are aiming to reach the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in school history and the first time since 2019. Utah put together its best postseason finish in 2016, when they forged a path all the way to the Sweet 16.

By The Numbers
The list of players back in the fold for Hideki Nakada's club includes just about all of the team's statistical leaders from 2022. Taliana Kaufusi, who piled up a team-high six goals, is back for her senior campaign, while assist leader Ryann Cull has returned after collecting four helpers a season ago. Kaufusi also led the squad in shots in 2022 with 41, followed by fellow returners Katie O'Kane, who racked up 28, and Courtney Brown, who posted 26.

In goal, all four of Utah's keepers, Evelyn Vitali, Kasey Wardle, Megan Quiggle and Taylor Prigge, are back for another season. No one on the roster collected more saves than Vitali's 48 in 2022, while Wardle crafted a 0.70 goals against average. Utah's keepers combined to record seven shutouts a season ago.

Senior Six
Utah's six-person senior class is comprised of Courtney Brown, Brooke Hale, Katie O'Kane, Taliana Kaufusi, Megan Quiggle and Ragan Vanschalkwyk. This group has combined to take the field in over 200 matches for the Utes and Brown is the one player remaining from the 2019 squad that reached the NCAA Tournament.

New Utes
Utah's 2023 roster includes seven new faces and that list of newcomers is comprised of freshmen Kennedy Schoennauer, Lilliah Blum, Bella Woods, Rylan Park, Mia Becarevic and Izzy Smith and sophomore transfer Alex Schoenstadt.

Woods, Becarevic and Smith were all part of an Alta High School squad that made a run to the state playoffs in 2022, while Schoennauer helped her squad capture the CCA Division II Championship, Blum was named her conference's player of the year and Park was an all-league selection.

Schoenstadt played her freshman season with Ole Miss and helped the Rebels achieve a winning record, as well as record nine clean sheets.

Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll
The Pac-12 released its preseason coaches poll on Aug. 14 and the UCLA Bruins garnered nine first place votes and landed in the top spot in the poll. The Utes were ranked 10th.

2023 Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2023 season are now available. Fans can purchase season tickets for $35.00 by calling the Utah ticket office at 801-581-UTIX or visit www.utahtickets.com. Utah soccer team scarfs available as a $10.00 add-on.

Up Next
The Utes first conference road date is with Oregon State on Oct. 28.

FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UtahWSoccer | Instagram: @UtahWSoccer | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwsoccer).

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