Utah Soccer Claims First Win in Big 12 Era

Thursday, August 15

Salt Lake City, UT

7 p.m.

University of Utah

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Gonzaga

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Gonzaga

Utah

Soccer

Photo by: Hunter Dyke/Utah Athletics

8/15/2024 11:36 PM | Soccer

Box Score

Woods scores against Gonzaga for final-minute win

SALT LAKE CITY - Starting its season with a bang, the University of Utah women's soccer program used two goals from graduate forward Taliana Kaufusi and sophomore midfielder Bella Woods to claim a 2-1 win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs to open it's 2024 season on Thursday evening at Ute Field.

Thursday's win marks the first season opener victory for Utah since the 2021 season against Portland.

"I am incredibly proud of our Utes tonight," said head coach Hideki Nakada. "It was a great battle against a tough Gonzaga team that could have gone either way, but in the end a special goal from Bella Woods got us the result we wanted."

The Utes came out strong with Kaufusi scoring a goal in the eighth minute, assisted by junior midfielder Brooklyn Blaylock and senior forward Katie O'Kane.

8' | GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!

Utah 's first goal of the year comes courtesy of Taliana Kaufusi for the early 1-0 lead!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/lr6eI2pVi0
— Utah Women's Soccer (@UtahWSoccer) August 16, 2024

In the 53^rd minute, Gonzaga equalized the game off a header from Katelyn Rigg, as she scored off a corner kick assisted by Marissa Garcia.

With less than a minute remaining, Woods capitalized on a free kick, as her shot curled around the Gonzaga defenders for the game-winning goal.

90' | WOODS WITH THE WINNER!!!!!

?? ESPN+#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/TAZSVOqUkL
— Utah Women's Soccer (@UtahWSoccer) August 16, 2024

Utah outshot the Bulldogs 13-10, with nine of the Utes' shots coming in the second half.

In her first start with Utah, junior goalkeeper Erin Gibbs recorded five saves. This game marked Gibbs's 15^th game with five or more saves.

"It is very early in the season and it certainly wasn't our best showing from a quality of play standpoint, but we had some great spells," said Nakada. "We will use this to build on and again I am so proud of this team for battling and find a way to win out in the end."

Next Up
The Utes will continue their home-game stretch with Grand Canyon University at Ute Field on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m.

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