Utah Soccer to Host Wolverines

SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah women's soccer program fought hard with the LSU Tigers for a 1-1 draw and now return home for a Sunday night match with the Utah Valley University Wolverines at 7 p.m. at Ute Field.

SUNDAY'S MATCHUP
Date | Time: Sunday, Sept. 8 | 7:00 p.m.
Utah (2-1-1) vs. Utah Valley (2-2-1)
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah | Ute Field
Live Stats: Click Here
Live Stream: Click Here
Commentators: Brian Preece and Brooke Hale-Stream
Twitter Updates: @UtahWSoccer

Scouting Utah Valley
In 2023, the Wolverines visited Ute Field for the first clash between UVU and Utah since 2016 and the Utes remained undefeated in the all-time series with a dominant 5-0 victory. Kelly Bullock touched off the scoring frenzy in the third minute and Utah piled on after that for their most lopsided triumph of 2023. In goal, Kasey Wardle kept the sheet clean by stopped all seven shots sent in her direction.

Coach Chris Lemay's team spent the early part of the season piling up momentum, starting with a 2-0 exhibition victory over BYU. They started the regular season by downing Michigan, then cruised past Detroit Mercy with help from two Ruby Hladek goals. Since then, however, Lemay's squad has suffered two losses and a tie and on Thursday, they'll be tested again when Utah State pays them a visit.

Hladek and teammate Faith Webber have established themselves as two of the most dangerous attackers in the Western Athletic Conference. Both players are tied atop the league leaderboard in points, Webber's four goals are tied for the conference lead, as are Hladek's three assists. Webber and Hladek are attempting to help UVU return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three season and the fifth time in school history.

Hats Off
On Sept. 1 against Weber State, for the first time on record in program history, two Utes tallied hat tricks in the same match. Both Katie O'Kane and Taliana Kaufusi booted in three goals in a 7-1 rout of the Wildcats. For O'Kane, this marked her second collegiate hat trick, the first coming on Oct. 1, 2023 at Oregon, while it was the first for Kaufusi.

Early Risers
In three of their first four matches so far in 2023, the Utes have gotten on the board within the first 10 minutes. Taliana Kaufusi accomplished this feat against Gonzaga and Grand Canyon, while Katie O'Kane added a 10th minute goal against Weber State.

Stacking Up Shots
The Utes have outshot three of their four opponents this season. Sunday's match against Weber State, the Utes tallied 12 efforts, while the Wildcats marked down five. In their match against GCU, they established a heavy advantage in total shots, outshooting their guests by a 14-3 margin. Utah could only boast of such a significant advantage in that statistic four times in 2023, the largest being a 32-12 margin in their win over Oregon.

If She Could, She Wood
In the ninetieth minute of Utah's season opener, freshman midfielder Bella Woods earned a free kick off a handball from Gonzaga. With pressure to take the lead of the tied game, Woods's shot curled around the Bulldogs' defenders and into the back of the net, earning the win for the Utes.

Bella Brings Home the Hardware
After her game-winning score against Gonzaga, Woods was recognized as the first Big 12 Freshman of the Week of 2024. She's the first Ute to earn a conference weekly award since Katie O'Kane in Oct. of 2023.

Two Goals for Taliana
Taliana Kaufusi found the back of the net for the second straight match on Aug. 22 against GCU, after netting her team's first goal of the season on Aug. 15 against Gonzaga. Kaufusi is the first Ute to start the season with goals in each of the squad's first two contests since Chelsea Forbes in 2009.

2024 Utah Women's Soccer Roster
Coach Hideki Nakada has assembled a squad that consists of 13 returners and 12 newcomers. The list of players back in Utah Red include 2023 leading scorer Katie O'Kane and Taliana Kaufusi, who topped the team in goals in 2022. Brooklyn Blaylock and 2023 assists leader Kelly Bullock have also returned after starting all 20 matches a season ago, as has Kasey Wardle, who finished as one of the conference leaders in saves as a sophomore.

Among the many new Utes on Nakada's roster are true freshmen Callie Blaylock, Londyn Lovell, Mia Paugh, Siena Zunino, Katie Callaway and Bella Ganiere. The Utah staff also added six transfers, including sophomore Landen Matthews, junior Erin Gibbs, senior Devi Dudley and graduate students Grace Watkins, Rachel Bastone and Ava Hetzel.

NCAA Appearances
The Utes are heading into 2024 aiming for their ninth NCAA Tournament berth and their first since 2019. Utah's best showing the national postseason occurred in 2016, when victories over Texas Tech and Florida State propelled them to the Sweet 16.

2024 Schedule
After Wednesday's match, Utah will host one more game at Ute Field before traveling to LSU on Sept. 5. This four- match home stretch will kick off a schedule where the Utes play at home a total of 11 times. This season, Utah will face off against two ranked teams, BYU and Texas Tech, and a match against TCU who is receiving votes nationally. The Ute's first Big 12 match will take place at Ute Field on Sept. 12, where they'll square off with the Arizona Wildcats.

New Conference, Same Utes
The 2024 campaign will be Utah's first as members of the Big 12, the fourth different conference the Utes have competed in since the program's inception as members of the WAC in 1995. Utah posted a 7-8-2 mark during that initial season, then went 13-7 in 1999 when they played in the Mountain West Conference for the first time. Their first foray into Pac-12 play was in 2011, when they finished 10-9-1.

The list of new league foes the Utes will have to contend with include a Texas Tech team that won the conference's regular season title, then reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament, as well as a BYU squad that reached the College Cup for the second time in three seasons. Utah will also be taking the field against Iowa State and Kansas State for the first time in program history.

New Year, New Staff
In addition to the new faces on the field for the Utes, coach Hideki Nakada also added two new coaches to his staff.

Assistant coach Travis Smith officially came on board in January after three seasons at Kansas, where he helped the Jayhawks rack up 20 victories, including wins over squads ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation. Smith also spent time at Brandeis High School, where his pupils included three all-state and seven all-region selections. He helped the squad to a district title in 2018 and, two years later, the Broncos finished the season ranked at No. 9 in the state.

Fellow assistant Jackie Poortinga was hired in May after a busy last several years that included functioning as Phoenix Rising's Director of Goalkeeping, a position she's held since 2021. Her responsibilities there included overseeing the development of the organization's goalkeepers, developing and implementing the team's goalkeeper training curriculum and identifying talent for the purposes of improving the roster. She also functioned as an Assistant Goalkeeper Coach for the Phoenix Rising FC Men's USL Championship team.

Tickets
Season tickets for 2024 are currently on sale, with single-match tickets going on sale on Aug. 12. Tickets can be purchased by visiting utahtickets.com/soccer/. All ticket sales are cashless and all tickets are digital, including MUSS Tickets. Pre-purchasing tickets will allow fans to obtain the best price. Those on the Utah player pass list will have their tickets added to their account associated with the email provided by the student-athletes.

To ensure a successful experience with digital ticketing, fans are encouraged to download their tickets to the wallet on their smartphone for presentation upon arrival at the stadium gates to expedite the entry process. Ticket sales and customer service will be available at the ticket office near the main entrance.

Next Up
After the Sept. 8 game with Utah Valley, the Utes will host the University of Arizona Wildcats at Ute Field on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.

FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UtahWSoccer | Instagram: @UtahWSoccer | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwsoccer), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.

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Players Mentioned

Rachel Bastone

Brooklyn Blaylock

Callie Blaylock

Kelly Bullock

Katie Callaway

Devi Dudley

Bella Ganiere

Erin Gibbs

Brooke Hale

Ava Hetzel

Taliana Kaufusi

Londyn Lovell

Landen Matthews

Katie O'Kane

Mia Paugh

Kasey Wardle

Grace Watkins

Bella Woods

Siena Zunino

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